Clockworks
by xXxAnGeLFLoNnExXx
Summary: "Have I seen you before?" In his life, Tsuna only remembers a few things of his past. When he meets Vongola Decimo: Giotto, his memories resurface; unraveling the mysteries of Millefiore and his existence. As they discover the secrets within, they rekindle a love that has continuously repeated between them. AU. G27. Edited. THE NEW VERSIONS OF CHAPTERS 5-9 are up!
1. Ch 0: Prologue: The Darkness Within

**Flonne:** This plot's been in my head for quite a long time now. Anyways, this is my second story. If I ever have Writer's block with my other story, I can update this instead and vice versa. That way, you guys can enjoy my writing and it might give me new ideas/inspiration for either of the two fics.

**Reborn:** You've decided to write a new fic, eh? What's this about?

**Flonne:** *sparkles in her eyes* Oh thank you for showing interest, Reborn-san!

**Reborn:** I never said I'm interested. All I'm here for is to know what is it about and if I'm going to be in this one. Of course as the greatest hitman, I must have a lot of screen time. Do I look like I care about your story?

**Flonne:** (H-How blunt and egotistical.) Y-Yes, you'll be showing up in here and everyone else.

**Reborn: **I appreciate me being a part of this crap but… say that again and you're gonna be eating bullets for dinner. *tip of Leon gun twinkles*

**Flonne:** (Huh? Oh right, he can read minds. And he called my story crap.)

**Reborn: **You forgot? Don't mind it. And yes, it is crap. Get on with the explanation.

**Flonne:** A-Ah, yes. Um, this is an AU fic. Yes, it is** BL/boyxboy/Shounen-ai/slight Yaoi.**

**Yaoi fans:** KYAA!

**Flonne: **BTW, just read the full summary below.

**Reborn: **Good. And as long as I'm in this fic and you don't mess my personality, I won't kill you… probably.

**Flonne:** *gulps* Then will you do the disclaimer just this once?

**Reborn:** Hell no.

**Flonne:** OTL… **KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN BELONGS TO AMANO AKIRA!** If it was mine, Tsuna would never be safe from the semes and Giotto is not his freaking ancestor!

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><p><strong>Title: <strong>Clockworks

**Summary:** "Have I seen you before?" In his life, Tsuna only remembers a few things of his past. When he meets Vongola Decimo: Giotto, his memories resurface; unraveling the mysteries of Millefiore and his existence. Also, rekindle a love that has repeated countless times between them. Just as the two discover the secrets within, things ought to be more than what they seem. AU.

**Rating:** T

**Note: **Tsuna will be a little OoC here. Yes, he's still uke-ish. He's still kind, deep down. But, he won't be no-good anymore. He also adapted a little (a lot) of Reborn's attitude. How? Just see the next chapter, my dear readers~.

**Pairings:** G27 (GiottoxTsuna) and all27 (AllxTsuna). Yaoi/shounen-ai only.

"Speech."

_'Thoughts.'_

_"Flashbacks/Voices."_

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><p><em><strong>~Changes in KHR storyline~<strong>_

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><p><strong>A.) <strong>The Primo Family replaces the 10th generation. The 10th generation replaces Arcobaleno. The Arcobaleno will be the 9th generation. The original 9th generation will be the founders of Vongola except for Nono himself. Simora (Vongola 6th) will be Primo.

**B.) **Xanxus & Ricardo are brothers. They are Timoteo's sons. Timoteo is Luce's uncle. Luce and Aria are twins. Iemitsu is the descendant of Simora (Vongola 6th). Tsuna and Giotto are 9th cousins. So yeah, more or less they have Hyper intuition. Did anyone notice that Luce, Aria, & Uni have dark green-ish hair like Daniela? That's one of the reasons why I included the 3 Sky Arcobalenos in the Vongola bloodline.

**C.) **Reborn and the rest of the original Arcobaleno will be in their adult forms.

**D.)** This will be in accordance to the manga only until the end of Inheritance Arc. Also, this will include 2 characters of the Curse of the Rainbow Arc: Checkerface and Tsunomichi. Nothing more, nothing less.

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><p><strong>Chapter 0 (Prologue): The Darkness Within<strong>

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><p><em>"Truths are shrouded with lies, and lies are hidden beneath truths."<em>

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><p><em><strong>Hear the past,<strong>_

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><p>It was dark, so very dark.<p>

And he was alone, so very alone.

Why was he alone?

Wherever he looked, he could see nothing but pitch black darkness. He couldn't even see his own hands in this place. No matter how much he tried, he was not able to get rid of the hollow, yet nostalgic feeling in the pit of his stomach. _'I don't understand.' _Someone grabbed him from behind.

"What the—!" The boy didn't get to finish his sentence when he felt himself get swallowed up by a never-ending abyss.

"Ah!" He woke up with a start. Sweat was trickling down his face and chin. His eyes were wide, and his mouth slightly agape. His breathing was quite ragged. Eyes were wide as he frantically looked around his room. He sighed in relief. "And here I thought—" He shook his head.

A teen slightly older than the boy from before also had a dream. For some strange reason, he can't seem to remember what he dreamt of. All he knows is that there was chaos and death. _'What was that_… _? I'm confused.'_ He sniffled a little. The teen glanced at his ring and saw that it was glowing brightly. _'Huh—'_

Voices from someone else's memories echoed in the room. He closed his eyes to listen carefully. For some reason, when he had his eyes open, he would only hear the events that were playing in his mind. Once he closed them, he could vividly see the images.

_"Mom, I'm gonna go play over there. Can I?" The boy pointed towards the sandbox where there were other kids his age. A brown-haired woman smiled. "Alright, have fun and don't go too far Gio-kun!" _

_"Hai!" He waved at his mother. Once he was in quite a good distance away from his mother, a blond man approached his mother. The man had a troubled expression on his face as he watched his son walk away._

_"Was it okay to just let him, Nana?" Nana looked at her husband with a sweet smile. She spoke with a soft, motherly voice. "Of course, Iemitsu. It's not fair if we just keep tying him down with us. Gio-kun has a long life to enjoy. Let him be."_

_Iemitsu rubbed his temples as he thought of the possible bad things that can happen to their son. "If you say so." Nana giggled. "You're such a worry-wart sometimes. I can't help but think you have a son-complex." Her husband blushed in embarrassment. They watched their son talk to a couple of boys around his age._

_Back to the blond kid, he felt that the two other kids are trustworthy friends. "Hi, my name is Giotto! What are yours?" The younger blinked at him. "I'm—" He pointed towards his companion. "and this is—, my big brother."_

_"I see. Nice to meet you!"_

_The younger grinned at him. "I have a feeling we'll be great friends. Ne, nii-chan?" The older companion smiled at Giotto and nodded at the other boy. Said boy was a bit confused. "He said you were his big brother. How come you don't look alike?" He laughed. "We aren't blood-related, but that doesn't mean we can't be brothers."_

_The younger grinned. "What can we call you then?" Giotto tapped his chin in thought. "Gio, I guess…? My parents call me that." His older companion nodded in understanding. "M'kay! What are you standing there for? Gio, come and join us!"_

_"Gio-nii, we're waiting for you. Let's go! He's coming with us, right?" The younger boy looked at his so-called big brother. "Of course he is! We won't let him walk off on his own. After all, we're friends." The boy's face broke into a grin._

_The younger of the two stretched out his hand. "Come on, don't be afraid! We'll be here with you!" Giotto looked at him. "Trust us, Giotto." The older added. He looked happy._

_"Count me in! I won't let you have all the fun by yourselves." He said with a big smile. When he said it, the two took both of his hands with big smiles on their faces._

_The scenery faded away slowly._

Giotto rubbed his temples. _'What a nostalgic dream… I don't think it's a memory. If it was, I'm not sure it's mine, though.' _A sardonic smile crept up his face. _'After all, my parents died after I was born.' _Who were those kids anyway? Even if he saw those happenings, he could not make out their faces. There was just no way.

He shook his head and decided to just forget about the whole thing. It's not very special, that's for sure. Must be an old childhood experience. Though no matter how hard he tried to forget, he kept playing it over and over in his head.

And that's how the blond spent his morning, mind plagued by the strange phenomenon. How ironic that he'll meet one of them later that day. Maybe it was some kind of sign for his Fate?

How peculiar.

A small voice resounded in the room where he was, but he didn't hear it. As he submerged himself in his thinking, he did not notice the two pairs of eyes watching him from the window. A blond-haired man grinned while slinging an arm around the woman beside him. She giggled.

_"Good luck in your future, Giotto."_

The flash of a smirk in the shadows remained unseen to the couple and to Giotto himself.

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><p><em><strong>Live the present,<strong>_

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><p>"I shall be taking my leave now. This is the report from Squadron 3." The woman with thick brown hair and busty figure bowed before handing over a file to her smiling boss.<p>

"Thank you." She took her leave.

A man was looking at a file boredly. He yawned as he read the same lines over and over again. _'Isn't there anything to break the monotony?'_ He asked himself. A sigh came out from his lips. "Life is so predictable and boring." Yet, there are many things he experienced that gave him the tingling thrill of pleasure and things he could not explain nor foretell. Sometimes, he could not differentiate reality from fantasy; and fantasy from reality.

He had the power to see what is parallel to his own reality, like looking into a mirror; but it happens too often that he was unable to discern which was _his_ reality.

It was an inconvenience.

A loud, sharp cry of a woman caught his attention. His gaze flickered to the side where he saw the lady, moaning in pain and agony; begging him to stop. He felt numbness in his entire being as she screamed out his name over and over again. The man could sense the feel of a gun on his hand, but he was merely holding a folder. A distinct click resounded in his ears. He was incapable of removing the image of the bloody woman in his mind.

Then it hit him.

The woman was his assistant. The same person who was just in the room _a minute ago_. He heard his own voice speaking in a whisper. _"You've been naughty, Iris. This is what you deserve for betraying me."_ His subordinate yelled out loud, _"Byakuran-sama, have mercy!"_

Byakuran's own eyes widened as he saw Iris's body fall to the ground. He stood up instantly and stretched out his hand to her, only to blink and see that no one was there in the corner. The white-haired boss grumbled to himself when he saw that it was simply another event taking place in a different parallel world. He has been experiencing a lot more of his other selves lately. Maybe he needed a rest.

He calmed himself and smirked. The event was not made to traumatize or haunt him in any way. His other self made him watch to warn him about his assistant. _'Yes, that must be it.'_ He pushed a button on the laptop on his side. A familiar red-haired male's face popped out. "Sho-chan, I'll be taking a quick nap. Please tell anyone who's looking for me not to bother." His right-hand man smiled at him and nodded. "Of course, Byakuran-san."

When Irie was about to log-off, his boss decided to call out to him one more time. "I need you to do me favor." The man readjusted his glasses. "Yes?"

"Watch over Iris Hepburn for me. I believe that she is up to no-good." And he turned off the computer. The white-haired man dragged himself out of the office and groggily made his way to his private chambers. Everywhere he looked, Byakuran could see people; both familiar and complete strangers to him. Some of them who passed him by looked alike. Parallel selves, perhaps? Currently, he could care less. He was stressed out; and their conversations didn't help, either.

"Hey, Matt. Miss Hepburn told us to fetch the reports from the field agents for Byakuran-sama!"

"Oh! Uh, sure."

Byakuran was about to sidestep, only to be caught off-guard for a second when the people passed through him like a ghost.

He then saw the same two men headed towards his direction. This time, they were carrying a crate of gadgets. Similar to the parallel selves of his subordinates, they were chatting idly in the middle of work. "Matt, miss Hepburn wanted us to go to the lab and help out Spanner. She said that blondie's got the new blueprints for the prototype mosca."

"That's great! This is really a big development for us."

Expecting that the two were images from a different world, Byakuran did not bother to get out of their way. It ended up with him crashing to the duo. All three groaned in pain. The burlier of the two looked angry. "Hey, watch where you're goi— B-B-Byakuran-sama!" He bowed. The other mirrored his actions. Both of them stared shamefully at the floor, as if they did a crime worth of death penalty.

The one called Matt gasped in horror. "W-We're so sorry, sir. We didn't notice you there!" The smiling man made a wave of dismissal. "It's fine. Now run along with your work. I'm sure Spanner's waiting for you." The duo saluted. "Yes, sir!" They picked up the boxes and ran in alarm. He faintly heard their shouts of 'that was close'.

The white-haired boss scratched his head in frustration, betraying the grin plastered on his face as he trudged along the corridors. He felt the world around him spinning non-stop. He was greatly confused by the double images he saw. The prospect of confusion did not go too well with his pride. _'I really need that rest now.' _Once he entered the room, he kicked off his shoes and headed towards his most private place.

Byakuran plomped down the soft mattress of his luxurious bed, trying to forget what events he witnessed that day.

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><p><em><strong>See the future,<strong>_

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><p>Countless hand shadows chased him. They kept on appearing, one by one, not even stopping for a bit. He could do nothing but run. He cried silently as he put his hands over his ears, trying to block out the voices. The boy gasped when he slipped and landed on his backside. The voices screamed louder and numbers were repeatedly chanted in his head like a mantra. <em>"Ten, seven…"<em>

"Somebody help me!" He yelled as he ran once more. The shadows kept on going after his tracks. _"Three, nine…"_ The voice said as the screams worsen. _"Eight, two, five…" _He regained hope when he saw an open door, full of light, at the last part of the endless hallway.

He felt the hands looming over him, and looked up. The boy paled when he saw the numerous hands were gaining in on him, overshadowing his petite form. _'I'll make it, I'm almost there—!'_ He was about to grab the door when— _"Six, one…"_ He shrieked in horror when the hands grabbed and pulled him away from the door of light. Said door closed shut once he was far away, enough for him to watch helplessly. The poor boy gaped at the closed door, and he yelled from the top of his lungs.

"No way… it's simply impossible! This can't be happening!"

_"__**Zero.**__"_

A scary man held his chin up and smirked. Fear-filled eyes stared back at mocking ones. _'No more, please…' __"You can run but you can't hide, Unmei-sama_**(1)**_. Wherever dimension or time period you may be, I will find you; and I will have the Trinisette's true power."_

He closed his eyes, expecting himself to feel pain all over again; instead, he didn't get anything. Why didn't the man hurt him like the usual. Hesitating, the boy opened his eyes slowly and said orbs widened at what he saw. He was in a completely white room. The man was nowhere to be found. He sighed in relief. Being trapped in a white room was a lot better than ending up in _that_ man's clutches.

"Where is everyone?"

The boy asked to himself. His voice was quite raspy. Why was his body aching everywhere? That he didn't know. _'Is this… a dream? It feels so real.' _His eyes widened when saw himself running away from men in black suits. _'What the—?'_ A blond teen his age saved him from danger. He stared at the teen in awe. _'Why would he save the other me?' _For some reason, he found the scene to be very nostalgic.

_"—Thanks a lot," _Is what his other self said to the blond teen. Many flashes of the next events followed soon after, making him feel drowsy and confused. _'Eh?'_

When the images finally stopped entering his mind, the boy saw another him talking to a blurry figure. _'Who are those people? Why is it chaotic here?' _The boy noticed the devastated scenery. He also saw the same blond teen on the side who was clutching his injury, a boy that seemed like himself. Both of them were facing a man with a black miasma covering his whole being. The sight of the man scared him. The boy could not pinpoint what he was feeling, but he knew it did not bode well for him.

The boy could only watch in awe in what was happening. He saw himself saying something, yet he was not able to catch any of the previous words. _'I wonder what they are talking about.'_

_"—Ultima Speranza."_The man with a black aura lost his grin and yelled in anger. The boy saw himself turn around and face the blond who was at the brink of tears. He had an expression of disbelief and worry. _"I'm—"_He heard himself say. Why was the conversation always cut off? A bird appeared before them._ 'The hell? It was covered with dying will flames! Was it a box weapon?'_

_"—take… owner… safety…" _He caught a bit of what his other self said. It was the last thing he heard before the scene faded away. A flash of pain attacked his chest. '_W-Why does my chest feel constricted? I don't understand.'_

_"I regret nothing—"_ The boy's other self said a name, but he was not able to find out whose name it was. A bright light engulfed the boy. He was momentarily blinded. Once the light dimmed, he saw a different scene. Two shadows could be seen forming in the distance.

He saw himself again.

This time, with a different companion. A face of a familiar boy came into view. _"Where are we—?" _He heard himself ask. The other answered and scratched his head. _"We are at the bridge…" _The last part was muffled again. _"Remember, you sacrificed us Arcobaleno to save everyone. Now, what is your wish?" _

_'Wish__…' _A flash of rainbow entered his mind. His other self muttered the words. His new companion nodded in understanding. The boy closed his eyes.

_"Let… wishes…"_Some sort of chant was recited. What…? He felt tears running down his face as he watched the events unfold. He tried to wipe his tears and noticed it was red. _'Blood? This can't be… is it?'_

People's spirits completely merged with _something_, but the boy could not see. It was blurred, left out. He saw himself tightened his hold on the other teen before letting go. The other closed his eyes. _"—Rainbow… fade…__sky…" _The dream was being disrupted again. The boy clutched his head as his mind was bombarded with images. He screamed in pain. "Make it stop, please!"

The boy remained on his spot, seemingly lost in the swarm of visions. _"Goodbye, everyone. Let us meet again sometime."_ He heard his other self say towards a group of fellow teenagers who clearly could not see his other self and the familiar-looking boy. Before he can observe the other closer, the companion was fading away as well. _"We'll be waiting for you—"_ He reached out to them as the images faded away, darkness taking their stead. "Don't go!"

The boy woke up with a start. _'What was that dream about? It was so weird.' _Vague images from the said dream entered his mind one at a time. "Ugh, my head…" He clutched his forehead as he slowly lay on the bed again. He sighed loudly. "Such a hassle, I wonder what was that all about? It was just a dream, I'm sure it was nothing important." He dozed off again.

What he failed to notice was his pacifier glowing like crazy. A gentle voice echoed in the room.

Later that day, he didn't expect to meet the same blond boy from his dream. Who knew it was going to happen? The boy definitely did not know. All he can do is pray that the future he saw in his dream will not happen. Because of his drowsiness, he fell asleep for the second time.

Though, he swore he heard a voice…

From the corner of the room, a transparent silhouette of a woman showed herself. She had greenish-black hair, blue eyes, and a flower stigma tattoo under her left eye. Beside the woman was a mini-version of her who wore a large white hat.

_"Mommy, are we leaving already? Can't we watch over him for a bit longer?"_ The younger asked. She smiled sadly. _"I'm sorry, Yuni. We can't stay by his side forever."_

Yuni tapped her chin in thought. _"Then_… _can we see Lambo-kun one more time?" _Her eyes sparkled, hoping her mother would agree. Said woman sighed._ "Of course."_ Her mother giggled.

The two transformed into Sky flames. The woman turned back to the boy.

_"Be careful, my son…_ _Tsuna."_

And they both disappeared into thin air.

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><p><em><strong>And may you be enlightened with reality.<strong>_

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><p><strong>(1)<strong> Unmei is the Japanese word for Destiny.

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><p><strong>Anyways, the reason I changed the chapter was because before, I could not think up of a good prologue. So I had to share a bit important non-spoiler info~! Now, it's done!<strong>

**Well, isn't it better to read than the character profiles?**

**Oh and by the way, the plot inside my head changed so there will be a few unnoticeable rearrangements in the story.**

**Flonne:** Well, that's it! BTW, I changed my mind and decided to put up a prologue. Enjoy reading Chapter 1! Anyways, to those who read my other story, I intentionally used the same position switch and only changed a few things, if you noticed.

**Reborn:** Of course they can see that, it's too obvious. *reads next chapter* I'm sure no one's gonna read this. It's a bunch of nonsense.

**Flonne:** *sweatdrops* Please don't rub it in… do the opposite.

**Reborn: **Fine, fine. Okay, you readers better READ this. Even if it is a load of crap. Or else you're all going to eat bullets for dinner along with Baka-Flonne here.

**Flonne: **W-Wah! D-Don't threaten them! Now they won't read this!

**Reborn:** Sucks to be you.

**Flonne:** **O A O;**

**PLEASE CONTINUE READING AND SEND REVIEWS/MESSAGE ON IDEAS YOU WANT ME TO INCLUDE IN THIS JUNK!**


	2. Ch 1: Meeting the Sky

**Flonne: **Please enjoy this chapter!

**Reborn:** They won't.

**Flonne:** Don't say that! I'm sure they will.

**Reborn:** *smirks* What are you talking about? This is fic has a crappy plot. They'll never like it, ever. Besides, not many likes to read all27.

**Flonne: **Hey! Don't insult all27! It's awesome.

**Reborn: **Like hell. This lacks lemon or smut. It's trash.

**Flonne:** *murmurs* I'll never be able to win an argument against him. *goes to the EMO corner*

**Reborn:** *sigh* **KATEKYO HITMAN REBORN BELONGS TO AMANO AKIRA. **And since she made me do the disclaimer, she's gonna pay. *thinks up stuff for torture*

**Flonne:** *gulps*

**Nothing changed much except for the fact that I included some stuff in the old dialogues here because there has been a major plot rearrangement. I also added extra scenes along with editing the previous scenarios. **

**Okay, I have a poll up. It's about which fic should I update first, since it's hard for me to choose which one to prioritize foremost. Vote on my profile please!**

**For this week's results:**

Clockworks – 5 votes

Changing our Future – 4 votes

Unbreakable Connections (Kingdom Hearts) – 4 votes

and Afterlife: Altered Destinies – 1 vote

**This pretty much explains why I have the next chapter of this story ready.**

**Enjoy, R & R please!**

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><p>"Tsunayoshi!"<p>

He was barely breathing; his panting became worse. The boy had no idea why he felt suffocated. He looked up and saw two blue eyes staring at him with fear, worry, and pain. _'Why is he looking at me like that?'_ He asks himself.

A sharp ache entered his chest. He clutched it immediately, for the pain was tearing him apart. A hole started forming and he did not need to see to know what it was; he knew it was a slash wound, and a large one at that. The blond who was holding him like a fragile glass had tears cascading down his face. He doesn't know why, but the words simply escaped from his mouth.

"I have failed you again. I'm afraid I won't be able to assist you any longer." His eyes became drowsy, slowly closing. The other teen gritted his teeth. "No! You're not gonna die, so just hang on!"

"I'm sorry, Giotto." His eyes closed, just like every other ending; doomed for eternal slumber.

True to his predictions, the blond was also stabbed; directly at his heart. The mafia boss slowly fell to the ground, never letting go of his beloved. Tsuna grasped Giotto's hand tightly in his. "Never will I let it end like this." The poor brunet laid there on the floor, bleeding to death along with his dead lover in his arms. He felt the darkness taking over once more, and Tsuna gently embraced it.

_'I guess it is time for me to repeat and repent once more.'_

The brunet's final words were, _"Closing time; every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."_ A gentle light enveloped the two.

Somewhere, the ticking of a clock stopped and the hand went on reverse. A bright light engulfed it. In the middle, a figure with a clear pacifier stood unmoving. He had his hands in a praying position while clutching the colorless artifact. _'Time is running out.'_

"It is time for the new cycle to unfold. I wish for your success, for this is the last chance you have. We will meet again, Tsuna-kun." He disappeared, along with one of the saddest smiles anyone has yet to see. The figure crushed his pacifier and watched its shattered pieces glow.

There was no turning back for the boy, and time as well.

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><p><em>I won't forget the promise we made.<em>

_I'll close my eyes and ascertain it._

_Shaking off the darkness that closed in on me, I advance on._

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Meeting the Sky<strong>

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><p><em>"Run."<em>

That's everything he's heard since this morning. _'I don't need to be told twice. It's, just something that I'll keep on doing until my last breath.'_ He sighed and increased his speed. It was useless, he convinced himself. There was no turning back.

All he's done in his life was run. From his memories, to dreams, his problems, the future; he had already ran away from them. Deep inside, he knows that he can never stop. Once he does, his past will catch up to him and he wouldn't be able to do anything to escape it. It was futile. He can never escape the endless cycle called Destiny and Fate; but he could not help but hope.

He hopes to finish this never-ending conflict with the 'anomaly', the name he gave to the root of all grief and sadness. If it weren't for that 'anomaly', things would've been different; a lot better and safer. Everyone would be happy without him. The 'anomaly' caused the Great Imbalance. No one was able to stop him.

And it was all his fault.

"Find him quick!" Someone shouted.

A hooded figure was currently taking refuge underneath a pile of crates. He was panting heavily, clutching a black suitcase. The figure was a small, petite boy that wore an orange pacifier. He's sprawled on the floor looking through a small opening on the crate in front of him.

Once he saw the men in white uniform were gone, he crawled out of his hiding place and stealthily passed through the alleyways. He sighed in relief. "Finally, they left. And here I thought I'm gonna be stuck under those boxes for the rest of the night." The figure muttered.

Unfortunately, he's such a klutz that he stumbled on a trash bin when he was sneaking into a narrow street. The men heard the noise and found him. The boy almost bit his tongue in alarm. "Shoot!" Then he ran off. The men in black came running after, trying to block or hit him.

"Great. Just what I need before meeting up with Talbot." He never planned on getting caught. After all, he was going to help his colleague and his aunt's Family, Vongola; but it seems that his life has different plans for him that day.

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><p>Giotto was not the type of person to aspire being in the mafia though it seems Fate has decided to play with him. Now, he's been forced into something he doesn't want to be a part of.<p>

All he asked for was a normal life. Getting a decent job, marrying the girl of his dreams and settling down with a quaint little family. No matter how boring it sounds. It looks like life for him is _far_ from what he originally planned.

What did he do to deserve this? Was he some kind of serial killer in his past life? Some of you might say he's exaggerating things, but who wouldn't ask themselves those questions if your life is as insane as his?

**Congratulations, you're the 10th boss of the strongest mafia Family in the world!**

**Announcement! An assassination squad lead by a scary trigger-happy man is after your head!**

**Hey, we're old allies of your Family and we want to get revenge on you! Surprise, your Family's 1st generation Mist guardian's manipulating us. Insert smiley face here.**

But those events were long gone… it's been two years since then. When things were finally settled in, another issue ensues. Byakuran arrived! Dun. dun. dun.

The Millefiore Family is one of the fastest rising organizations. The Family is actually a merger between the Gesso Family, lead by Byakuran Gesso and the always neutral Giglionero Family, lead by Aria Sawada. Frankly, all of the mafia world were surprised when the Giglionero merged with the Gesso when Aria was known to be an unbiased, neutral leader. None of its members wanted to be allied either. So why would they suddenly join Byakuran? They doubted that something happened to Aria and it was all Byakuran's fault. Now, something came amiss. The Millefiore started attacking Vongola. Seems like their looking for something, or someone. And then this happened.

All he wanted to do was get a goodnight sleep after finishing the tiresome preparations for Talbot's friend. The guest was very important: he's known as the greatest inventor, Armonia. But no… his pink-haired Storm guardian barges in and reports something about explosions and men in white uniform sighted in the streets of Sicily. Millefiore, again? Why won't they just disappear from the face of the earth?

His tutor, Reborn, forced him into checking it out himself. He became Giotto's tutor two years ago when his distant aunt Luce chose him to become Vongola Decimo. He owes Reborn his friends, his status, his life but don't tell him that or the guy would take advantage of it. On the side note, even if he is grateful, he doesn't like the fact that the man loves torturing him to no end. Now here he is with his six guardians and his tutor going to investigate the explosions.

He felt Alaude's dark aura and Daemon's cold glare from the back. As usual, G and Knuckles were arguing and Asari was trying to calm them down and of course, failed at it. Lampo kept on yawning and complaining how tired and bored he was. Giotto was getting irritated. Suddenly,—

Screams could be heard in the distance.

—an explosion occured. They immediately rushed to the scene. They were all shocked (not that they would show it) to see the once beautiful city streets turned into a charred wasteland. Then they saw smoke and loud screams of help from the citizens. Giotto's eyes flashed.

"Everyone, let's help the people first. We can't continue if we're going to involve many innocents. Let's split up and also search for any enemies." All of went off to search in different directions.

* * *

><p>The petite figure kept on running. He was officially lost and now Millefiore's on his tail. Nice. He knows exactly what Byakuran wants and he won't give it. After all, his latest creation is his best one yet and could turn the tides in battles no matter how outnumbered you are. <em>'What am I, a trouble magnet? Sheesh, life won't just give me a damn break already!'<em>

Now, he doesn't give a damn to where he's headed off to or if he'll be able to attend the meeting. All he cares about is getting those guys out of the way. Then his intuition flared up. He was occupied by his thoughts that it was too late to dodge the incoming blast.

The figure was sent flying high. The world was spinning for him as he crashed through a wall (thank goodness it was made of wood) and he expected hard ground. _'I can't believe I'm gonna get hurt this bad!'_

Nothing?

The boy was actually caught bridal-style by someone before he even touched the pavement. _'What the hell happened?'_

When he opened his eyes, he looked up to his savior and saw it was a blond-haired teen with orange eyes and a flame on his forehead. The blond had a black-haired fedora wearing man for a companion. He recognized them both. It was Vongola Decimo, Giotto Taru and the famed hitman, Reborn. And also…

…he was the boy from his visions.

His eye twitched from the nostalgia he felt. And here he thought it was just a dream. Why did it have to come true? If this was gonna happen then… he paled at the realization. _'That means the next one to appear is—'_

"Oof!"

The teen's hood fell off, revealing his face. Reborn grinned deviously, making the boy shudder. _'Curse my luck. I just had to be exposed and he's here too. I'm so dead.'_ The boy thought.

* * *

><p>Giotto just blasted some of the men and helped the townspeople flee. He caught Reborn shooting a bunch of henchmen. He saw Daemon's illusions from afar and it seems the man was venting out his frustration on the men. Judging from the bruised-up bloody corpses, Alaude didn't hold back either. He could spot some craters (Knuckles), sliced-up items (Asari), and charred walls (Lampo). Heck, there were flame-coated arrows on the ground, courtesy of G.<p>

When he approached Reborn, he sensed something coming. When the wall on the side broke, he saw a hooded figure crashed out of it. Good thing he caught him on time or there would've been another bloodspill in the street. That won't do.

"Oof!"

_'Now what did I get myself into?'_ Giotto pondered. The boy's hood slid off. He blushed at the sight of the cute brown-haired brunet. And he looked like—

The blond's eyes widened at the sight of the newcomer. If he let this boy near him, there's a chance he'll find some answers about the weird memory.

_'Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as I thought.'_ He smirked inwardly.

* * *

><p>Reborn is expecting his first student's coming. Talbot announced that the famous Armonia will help them. Oh yes, he knows it's his clumsy inventor student. And yes, he knows the kid's real identity. The boy's one of the legitimate candidates for the position of Vongola Decimo and his boss's nephew, too. He along with the other 9th generation guardians tutored him. Poor kid. Though out of his three students (In this order: Armonia, Dino, Giotto), his best and favorite was the inventor; but the kid's not an exception from Spartan training.<p>

Now, Reborn was happy to shoot those scumbags. After all, even if he forced Giotto to take care of the problem, these guys disturbed his coffee break. He was about to drink his coffee when he got the message. They're gonna pay. No one takes away Reborn's espresso.

When they got to the scene, he was pissed off (inside). He just wanted to finish the whole thing and go back to his one and only beloved. Though the first thing to do in mind was kill some henchmen.

Reborn was quite satisfied with the destruction his students and the guardians created. He was contented with the unconcious bodies of the Millefiore. Then something he didn't expect happened. Giotto caught something, or more likely someone. His eyes widened slightly when he saw a glimpse of brown underneath the figure's hood his student was carrying.

When the boy's face was revealed, he had no doubt. It was his other student, Armonia**. **How on earth did he get in this mess? The boy's neglected his teachings, eh? When they arrive at the mansion, he's going to force the boy to undergo Spartan training again. Besides, he still hasn't got him back for ditching their last session.

_'Let's see if you'll survive tomorrow's training. Hehehe.'_ Reborn gave a feral grin that promised torture and pain. Said boy felt a shiver up his spine at the sight of Reborn's smile(?).

_'No one can ever escape the world's greatest hitman, idiot.'_

* * *

><p>"U-Um… u-uh… a-are you okay, kid?" Giotto stammered. Why did he stutter? He's reverting back to his no-good self! Although it was unnoticed since he got a smile in return. "Ah, y-yeah. I am. Thanks a lot." An innocent, sweet voice answered. Then the boy lowered his head.<p>

"Hm? What's wrong?" Giotto sensed the kid's uneasiness. The boy started to fidget with his fingers. "W-Well, are you planning to carry me all day? Can you please let me down?" _'I'm not a damn princess, so let me go already. And to hell am I a bride.'_ The teen resisted the urge to scowl. There was no way he's gonna let a slip up; he's got an image to keep here, people!

Giotto blushed brightly. "O-Oh, right. I-I'm so, so sorry." Then he let the boy go. Afterwards, a group of black vans arrived. A red-haired man came out. He was wearing a different outfit from the others. It was Zakuro. He was wearing the official uniform for the Funeral Wreaths. He smirked when he spotted the brown-haired boy. They've found their target.

"Byakuran-sama has ordered us to capture the boy unscathed. Surround them!"

Many men came out of the vans. The boy, Giotto, and Reborn were surrounded. Zakuro glared at Giotto, knowing the blonde was his master's enemy. "You've got no place to hide, Armonia. Vongola, give us the boy." He said. Armonia slightly paled at that.

"You're Armonia?!" Giotto looked at him in disbelief. He didn't expect that the famous inventor would be a little kid. Said kid awkwardly chuckled and gave him a nervous look. "Ahahaha… At least we finally met, Mr. Taru. I heard a lot about you from Talbot and the others." The blond had a question mark hovering above his head.

"How did you know?" _'Are you some sort of psychic who can tell who is who at one glance?'_ He mentally berated himself for it. _'This isn't the time for silly things, what am I even thinking?'_

He scratched the back of his head. "I've got my sources." Then Armonia looked at Zakuro instensely. "Why won't you leave me alone? Can't Byakuran see I'm not gonna budge?" _'I've already got a lot on my hands so please, just don't make it harder for me.'_

"You have no say in it. Byakuran-sama only wants you to surrender _that _and come with us. Of course, as the Sky Arcobaleno, your existence is necessary for our goals." The boy sneered at him. "There's no way I would, dammit. To hell with your claims, I could care less about those plans that guy has in store for me."

Giotto frowned. Arcobaleno? What's that? Why were these men after Armonia? And what does he have that they want? Many questions were spinning in his head. His trail of thoughts was interrupted when he heard Reborn say something. The hitman growled. "He does not belong to you or Byakuran. He is free to choose whom he wants to go with. The Sky will never be bound by anything."

Armonia muttered. "Reborn…" He closed his eyes as a small smile crept up his face. _'No matter how much you __deny it, you still care for your students a lot.' _Now Giotto's even more curious. Did his two companions know each other?

Zakuro threatened. "If you don't come with us now, we won't hesitate to shoot off those two men with you. Not only that, the Vongola guardians won't be able to help because they're being fend off by my other men. Don't underestimate us, idjit."

Armonia's eyes widened. He knows Reborn and the Vongola Decimo are strong, but if the guardians weren't around against one of the Funeral Wreaths, then they're in a lot of trouble. He squeezed Giotto's cape and his suitcase tightly before he let go, and slowly walked towards the red-head. Everyone's eyes widened at the action.

Zakuro and the Millefiore had a smug look on their faces. So the boy knows they've got no chance, eh? Before he could even reach the red-head, a blast took place between the boy and Zakuro. Reborn used that moment to grab Armonia and run away with Giotto.

Out of the shadows, all of Giotto's guardians appeared. "Oi, Primo**(1)**! Why is a Funeral Wreath here?" Giotto merely ran past them. "I've got no time to explain! Quick, let's make a run for it and retreat!"

"What? You better keep your word, Primo!" G yelled as he dragged Lampo with him. The green-haired aristocrat shrieked as he was swept away by the man with the red (pink) hair. Asari chuckled. "Ah, everyone's getting along okay today." The priest nodded and beamed at him.

"Amen to that, they're actually having some bonding time together." Knuckles grinned and sped after them. Somehow, Daemon and Alaude managed to slip away from everyone's notice.

They were gone. None of the Millefiore saw which direction they ran off to.

"Dammit! And we were so close, too." Zakuro rubbed his forehead. "Tch! Byakuran-sama's not gonna like this news, idjit. Clean up the mess!" He roared. The men frantically left to take care of the destruction.

* * *

><p>Tsuna stared at the blond who was currently dragging him away. He finds himself lost in the male's blue eyes.<p>

_"My name is Giotto, nice to meet you!" A happier blond of the same age greeted him with a big smile on his face, hand out for a shake. The brunet could see the cheerful glow around him and returned the gesture. He took the other's hand._

_"I-I'm Tsuna. Tsunayoshi Sawada."_

The inventor cupped his chin in thought. _'What was that about?' _Images flashed in his mind, making him clutch his head in surprise.

_Burning trees were everywhere. Smoke covered the entire forest. Different flames raged on the field as two prominent figures were at the edge of a bluff. The horrible stench of blood lingered in the area. Unimaginable corpses were scattered. Injured men gasped as they held onto their last breaths._

_A hopeless brunet laid on the floor, unmoving; paralyzed for good. An older blond stood in front of him, a flame-covered hand jabbed through his form. The lifeless eyes of the younger had the death registered in his mind. He forced himself to move and catch the falling male, but proved to be futile. "Giotto…"_

_"Tsunayoshi, I love you."_

_The lurking evils overwhelmed his senses; Tsuna couldn't take the deafening silence. In the darkness, a large shadow loomed over him; an unholy smile on their face, forever etched in memory. No matter what he did, even if he closed his eyes, the smile could not be erased._

The brunet bit back a scream, ending up uttering a soft high-pitched groan. He saw the questioning stare of his savior, and Tsuna said words that he never planned to. The blond boss was slightly taken aback; he did not expect that query. But somehow, the question brought up flashbacks for him. He kept quiet during the ordeal, never once thinking to answer the Arcobaleno.

In his mind rung the familiar question that gave rise to unwanted nostalgia. It kept repeating on and on during the entire trip. _'That question… it sounds as if I've been asked that too many times to count.'_

_"Have I seen you before?"_

* * *

><p>Giotto and the others arrived at the Vongola estate. They were panting heavily and looked like they went through a battlefield (which they did). Reborn noticed the glowing thing underneath the teen's cloak. His eyes narrowed. <em>'Why is it glowing? There are no other Arcobaleno around here.'<em>

Daemon was the first to notice the brunet's presence and glared at him. "Giotto, why is there a boy with you?" The illusionist expected a flinch or a shiver but the boy's reaction was something else. Armonia glared back at Daemon. This man was intimidating but he's not gonna let that fact disturb him.

"Oh yeah. Why did you bring a kid with us? That's extremely wrong!" Knuckles bellowed. "Primo, have you gone nuts?! We can't let a kid in here!" G started to curse out loud hysterically.

"For kidnapping and involving a kid in this mess, I will punish you to death." Alaude brought out his handcuffs. Asari went in front of them. "Calm down, I'm sure Giotto can explain this."

Everyone except Reborn glared at Giotto and Asari. Armonia gave the blond boss his famous (and cute, don't forget cute) puppy dog eyes. Giotto took their glares as a sign that if he doesn't explain this, there'll be bloodbath all over the place. _His_ blood, of course.

"Well, you see… do you remember the guest were having tomorrow?" They all had a confused expression. What was he taking them for, idiots? Daemon raised an eyebrow. "You mean Armonia? The famous inventor?"

"Yes, and well… here he is." He pointed at the boy, who now had an impassive look on his face. Now, everyone looked at the boy incredulously. _'Is Giotto/Primo/the herbivore serious about this? This kid doesn't even look older than 13.' _Armonia twitched. _'Why can't they believe I'm the inventor. Seriously, I'm not that helpless-looking… am I?'_

Giotto gave them flat stares. Oh, he knows those looks. "I'm sure you're all doubting me. Really I'm not joking, this kid is Armonia. Those Millefiore were after him!" At that, they believed he was the real deal (though still had their suspicions). Asari was the first to recover from the shock that the inventor was a little kid. "Hi! My name is Asari Ugetsu. Nice to meet you."

Armonia smiled back, which made everyone in the room blush at the sight (except Knuckles and Lampo). _'Cute.'_ Everyone inwardly said. Then they shook their heads to erase their dirty thoughts. Now that they've cleared their minds, they introduced themselves.

"Name's G. Right-hand man. That's all you need to know." He looked away from those big doe eyes focused at him. They're adorable, but a bit creepy and unnerving. The older skylark gave the kid a blank stare. "Alaude. Break the rules and I will punish you to death." Armonia quietly snorted. _'As if you can, birdie.'_

"Nufufufu. Daemon Spade, at your service." He grinned wolfishly (or maybe melon-like) at him. The brunet inventor shivered. The youngest of their group walked up to him and batted him a haughty glance. "Lampo Bovino, king of the world. Call me Master, Lord, or Your Highness."

Knuckles was going to introduce himself when something inside his head clicked. The boy looked awfully familiar and he has a pretty good idea who he is. Then, he remembered. That's right, he was— "I KNOW YOU! YOU'RE ONE OF RYOHEI AND KYOKO'S FRIENDS WHO WENT TO OUR HOUSE TO THE EXTREME!"

"Looks like you finally recognized me, Akihiro. Or should I say, Hiro-nii**(2)**?"

Not paying attention to the fact that he knew the other's real name, their eyebrows twitched madly. _'Hiro-nii?!' _They wouldn't say it out loud, but they're jealous that Knuckles is already close with the adorable brunet. One thought passed their minds after that. _'How come that guy knows a kid like this?'_

Reborn shook his head. "You went to Ryohei's house? When did you?" _'I won't let any of those buffoons you call guardians get closer. You're mine, my no-good student.' _Armonia gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head. The aura Reborn was practically giving off scared him a bit. "Guess I forgot to tell you. I've been coming over in their house a year after you left."

"I see." Still, the aura hasn't disappeared. The brunet boy sweatdropped at that. "You two know each other? Extreme! I really didn't recognize you, Tsuna." The priest grinned. Out of the blue, his boss had a clueless and suspicious expression. "Tsuna? What did he mean by that? Isn't your name Armonia?" Giotto inquired. G lit up a cigarette as he grunted in agreement.

The boy froze before regaining his composure._ 'Oh boy, and here I thought I could keep it a secret. Damn priest doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut.' _He refrained himself from glaring at the said man. "Um, Armonia is just an alias; Reborn and Talbot knows that. Sorry if I didn't introduce myself. I am Tsunayoshi Sawada, you may call me Tsuna. Thanks for helping me out there, Mr. Taru." He smiled cutely.

"It's alright, and calling me with a 'Mr.' makes me sound old. You can just call me Giotto." The blond glanced at him. A different thing came into his mind. "By the way, I have a question." He snapped his head up. "Hm?"

"Why were the Millefiore after you? I know your the best inventor and all but don't they have Innocenti and Koenig on their side? They even developed the box weapons! And they said you were the Sky Arcobaleno. What's that?" Tsuna silently clicked his tongue. _'Screw you for being observant. Now I have to spill the beans.' _He looked at the side and saw Reborn's eyes glinting with sadistic glee. _'Stupid bastard making me break the omerta.' _The brunet blinked to himself. He's been cursing a lot lately.

"You see, I have something they want to get their hands on badly. As for the Arcobaleno, it's my title and duty." Daemon joined the conversation. "Ah, the famous Arcobaleno. You guys are bound to protect the Trinisette, yes?" Tsuna glared at him. That was impossible, nobody else knew that! Unless… "H-How did—?"

"It's my brother and sister, Mukuro and Chrome. Ring any bells?" The brunet sighed inwardly. _'And here I thought he was a Millefiore spy.' _He paused for a moment. _'How could I miss the resemblance? But—' _Tsuna inwardly sighed as he stared at the other's ridiculous hairstyle. He unconsciously muttered. "How come you have different surnames?" The illusionist murmured something. The brunet looked at him. "Can you please repeat what you said? I didn't quite catch it."

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all."

G narrowed his eyes. "Trinisette? Arcobaleno? I don't get it." Reborn answered. "The Trinisette is the mafia's most valuable treasure. It can harness and strengthen one's flames. It is made up of three sets of S-class rings**(3)**."

"S-class? Those exist?" Giotto said.

"Yes. And the Arcobaleno are the proclaimed Strongest 9**(4)** that bears the rainbow pacifiers. Basically, the Sky Arcobaleno is the heart of the Trinisette and the only one who can unleash its true powers. He watches over the rings and its rightful bearers. The other Arcobalenos guard the Sky and protect the balance of the rings."

"Then is that the reason why they're after him?" Asari glanced at Tsuna, who nodded. "That's right; all because he is an Arcobaleno." The blond boss ahd a thoughtful look on his face. _'We can't just let him go around different places on his own, it's too dangerous.' _Then he grinned at a plan forming in his mind. _'I'm sure he won't mind to stay here, would he? Besides, this is my chance to know more about the rings.' _Giotto decided. "It's settled. We will protect Tsunayoshi from Byakuran and in turn, he will help us with his expertise." _'He looks really familiar, too.'_

Tsuna's eyes gleamed. "Thank you very much for the help. I appreciate it." '_Though my intuition says that he's not telling me everything. What does he want from me?'_ Knuckles proclaimed. "Of course! I won't let anyone touch my younger brother!"

"If Primo says so, then I'm okay with it."

"Hmph. I'll get to punish more herbivores, just don't get in my way."

"Yare, yare. Another problem ensues. But don't worry, I'll help… maybe."

"Sure! You can count on me for help, Tsuna!"

"Nufufufu, this is gonna be interesting."

Giotto smiled. His friends are really reliable. They would never let anything bad happen to anyone, though they wouldn't admit that. Then he remembered Reborn. When he looked where the man was standing, he was gone.

Outside the room, Reborn was leaning on the wall. He slipped out after Giotto said his plans. He was proud of both of his students. They've really matured in their own ways, even if they're still a little childish. He knows Tsuna isn't someone you can underestimate, the kid's practically the strongest out of the Arcobaleno.

And all eight of them are a lot stronger than anyone, even Vindice; but they're forbidden by the curse to fight back. The last Arcobaleno, the anomaly… one that wasn't supposed to exist; he doesn't even want to think about that traitor. He can only rely on Giotto and his guardians, the new hope of everyone.

The hitman tipped his fedora lightly before walking down the hallway. _'Seems that things are gonna be more thrilling from here on out for my students.'_ He looked outside of the window. _'What is that man planning for Tsuna, anyway?'_

The said brunet blinked as he observed everyone silently. The scene was all too tiresome, as if he already experienced this repeatedly. But there was no way that would be true since it was their first meeting, right?

* * *

><p>"Ah. It's time, isn't it?" A teenage male asked a guy wearing a trench coat and some kind of silver fedora. His older companion gave him a shiver-inducing grin. "That's right, milord. It is the right moment for the two forces to collide."<p>

His master sighed and put on his hood, hiding his face from view. "I see. We should get going for the alliance now. We definitely don't want the Mare's bearer to be wary of us."

"Understood." The man in trench coat tipped his hat. The teen nodded and continued to pack his things. _'Unmei, my friend. This time, I will not fail you and Lady Aria.'_ His eyes lit up and showed his hardened resolve.

The man was thankful that the other could not hear his thoughts. He watched his 'master' silently. _'No matter __how resolute you are, you cannot foil my plans. In the end, my will shall prevail.'_ He took out a silver pocketwatch from his satchel. After he opened it, a gray flame came into view. "There is little time left for them, perfect." He muttered. The teen blinked. "Did you say something?"

"None at all. You must be hearing things."

When he noticed the other facing towards his direction, he immediately hid the pocketwatch. His master simply gave him a confused stare but shrugged it off as his imagination. _'That was a close one. I almost thought he would see it.'_ "Shall we, milord?"

"Yes."

A blinding light engulfed the both of them and all traces of their presence in the room disappeared.

* * *

><p><strong>(1) <strong>Giotto was the first person to accept G, so he calls him 'Primo'.

**(2) **Knuckles's real name is Akihiro Sasagawa. Akihiro means 'great brightness'. Kinda describes the sun, don't you think?

**(2) **The Arcobaleno pacifiers aren't a part of Trinisette. Instead, they're kind of like the padlock that seals the power of the items.

**(3) **There's 9 of them, since there are 9 pacifiers (Sky, Storm, Sun, Lightning, Rain, Mist, Cloud, Corrupted which is Lal's pacifier, and the Clear one [secret to those who haven't read yet]). Lal's pacifier will signify Night flame (8th flame) while the Clear represents Earth flame.

**P.S.** Giotto and the others still doesn't have the Vongola rings and the Shimon doesn't have the Shimon rings. They have class-A rings.

* * *

><p><strong>So uh, there was this opening scene before the title. Anyways, I typed that in because it has something to do with the secrets of the fic~. Cookies to anyone who can guess where I got the italized stanza from (before the chapter's title). Just think it fits the story well.<strong>

**And anyways, the one-line dialogues after the chapter name are important. It's linked to the plot.**

**So some may have noticed that the ending scenes are from Chapter 2. Well, I kinda compressed the previous chappies to make each one longer. And also added new scenarios.**

**Flonne:** Well, this was long. Please review this! Tell me if you don't like it or something.

**Reborn:** Get going and write the next chapter for this and your other stories. Oh, and you shouldn't do the disclaimer anymore. They're not stupid because they know that it already doesn't belong to you. Dumbass.

**Flonne: **O-Okay, I get it! Tune in to this story! And for those who haven't read my other stories, visit my profile to see it. Thanks for reading this one. *bows* Just so everyone knows, my fic 'Afterlife' is an experimental piece.

**Reborn:** Ciao ciao! *waves*

**Ciao ciao~! -Flonne.**


	3. Ch 2: Misadventures in Vongola mansion

**Flonne:** 17 reviews?! Well, that's a shocker. In your face, Reborn!

**Reborn:** What did you say? *cold glare*

**Flonne:** Gomen! What I meant to say is… uh… I got many reviews and it's the 1st chapter!

**Reborn:** And what's it got to do with me?

**Flonne:** But you said this story was a fail!

**Reborn:** I don't remember.

**Flonne:** Liar! *shakes head* Um… anyways, I don't know what to write here in the beginning; so I made a conversation between us just to make this chapter 10 pages.

**Reborn:** You're making things too complicated. Who's your tutor anyway? *arrow points at him*

**Tsuna:** *sweatdrops* Right…

**Reborn:** Dame-Tsuna, go back to your training or I'll send you off to Hibari.

**Tsuna:** N-No thanks!

**Flonne:** I love 1827! Send him! Oh …and can I bring Mukuro?

**Reborn:** Whatever.

**Flonne:** Yay! Tsutsu, do the disclaimer!

**Tsuna:** Okay. **Katekyo Hitman Reborn belongs to Amano Akira…**

**Flonne: **Can't you be more lively? Oh, Hibari-san~ …Tsuna's cheating on you with Giotto!

**Tsuna:** HIEE! *runs away*

**Reborn: ***sighs* He's still a dame. And didn't I tell you to stop with the disclaimer?

**Flonne:** I-I… I'm…! *goes after Tsuna*

**Reborn:** *shakes his head* Both of them are so no-good…

**Please continue to vote on the poll~! R & R about the extra changes, please!**

* * *

><p>"Hm, what are you doing Tsunayoshi?" A blond teen approached the brunet who was focused on a box with sparkling things inside. Tsuna smiled at him, gesturing at the older male to come closer. "Take a look, Giotto."<p>

He did as told, and was met with the sight of rings. Not just any rings, but rings adorned with gems; each has a color of the rainbow. Giotto raised an eyebrow at his companion. "Huh? What are these for?" The blond took a ring with the name 'Vongola Famiglia' engraved on it, with 7 gems on it; unlike the others.

He chuckled. "Clams, really?" Tsuna snorted at him and smirked. "Says the guy who named his organization after them." He grinned. "I'm actually going to give the rings to you."

"Are you going to propose to me, Tsunayoshi?" He kissed the younger male, earning him a few splutters. The brunet smacked him lightly, his face lit up like a Christmas tree. "T-That's not it, idiot! I just had a feeling I should make these stuff. And I'm entrusting this not only to you, but also to Yu-chan and Cozart." Giotto pouted. "Eh? I'm not special?" Tsuna gave him a chaste kiss, his blush intensifying. "Stop joking around."

"But you're so cute, mi amore~!" Giotto got another smack to his shoulder. "Seriously, why'd you create them?" He tried the ring he took, and it fits his middle finger perfectly. And it also looked completely right; _as if it was meant to be for him._

"The world's balance is falling apart because of humankind's actions. Mother Nature is destroyed and it's causing abnormalities." A nagging ache came from his intuition and he frowned inwardly. "This is the only way." _'I'm not doing the wrong thing, am I?' _He looked out the window. _'This kind of power should not be given to us humans but it's not like I have another choice.'_

The blond had a worried expression on his face and he stared at the ring once more. The mere sight of it gave off the impression of tremendous power. He can literally feel his life force being harnessed by the small trinket. _'Somehow, this gives me the chills. What is going to happen?'_

* * *

><p><em>There's a long, hard journey ahead of us.<em>

_I can't give up._

_When can I see again here,_

_The future that I lost?_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: Misadventures in Vongola mansion<strong>

* * *

><p>A white-haired man was seating on a couch and kept on eating marshmallows when another guy in white came in, papers in hand. He smirked when he saw his subordinate. <em>'More news about my Tsu-chan, I'm sure.'<em>

"Lord Byakuran, we have a report from Master Zakuro. It seems he and his squad failed to retrieve _it_ and capture the Sky Arcobaleno. Also details about him has been found." His smirk turned a bit more malicious, and his henchman could not resist a shiver up his spine. _'Lord Byakuran is fearful man, indeed.'_

"I see. Leo-kun, please sent a notice to Zakuro-kun that he will be on hold as punishment~." The way he said it sounds like he's going to enjoy the torture. It also enticed another shudder from the messenger. "Also, send a notice to Kikyo that he's getting Zakuro-kun's job 'cause he's better in those kind of stuff." Byakuran said to the man in white, revealed to be Leonardo Lippi. "Understood, and Lord Byakuran?"

"Yes?" Those cold violet eyes were directed at him and all that Leo wanted to do was crawl back into a hole and never show himself ever again. His eyes practically gave off the feeling that he can see everything without anyone knowing. But he knew it was impossible; only the one with the orange pacifier knows what is to come.

"Did you like the new flowers in the room? They were handpicked by Master Kikyo." Sweat trickled down his face as he suppressed his nervousness. There is no way he's going to let himself show weakness in front of this man. This despicable, despicable man. "As expected, he has the best taste in flowers. Please send my regards to him along with the mission."

"Yes." With that Leo left the room. The white-haired man's eyes locked onto his form as he had his back turned, making his way for the exit. His orbs held utmost suspicion, but decided not to ponder it further. _That was his biggest mistake._

Byakuran scanned the file in front of him. It was Tsuna's profile. "Tsunayoshi Sawada, so that's his real name. Son of the Giglionero boss, huh? How come Aria-kun or Yuni-chan didn't tell me they had another family member?" _'Oh well, I could always use those two for something else than getting information. After all, they are the previous holders of the ring.'_ The Mare Sky ring glinted on his finger as his smirk widened. _'I'm pretty sure I can force _him_ to control them.'_

He stood up and gazed at his office window. He stretched his hand out, as if grabbing for the sky.

_'Tsunayoshi-kun, you will be mine.'_

Byakuran completely ignored the numerous silhouettes of the subordinate who recently left his ward. He also ignored the people who entered his room as if they went through the door.

* * *

><p>2 cloaked figures came out of the shadows. Both were wearing pacifiers. They're currently in the place where the Millefiore chased Tsuna. They searched around, trying to find some clues about the person they were looking for.<p>

"Did you find him anywhere?"

"No sign of him. Man, we messed up." The taller one answered.

"We didn't. _You_ did. If you didn't get distracted, we wouldn't have been separated from him. And did you see the explosions earlier? Those were Millefiore! Who knows what they've done. They might've captured him already or _it_ got stolen!" He flailed his arms frantically, waving his weapon in front of the other's face. His companion had a shaky expression. "Calm down, I'm sure he's alright. Besides, he's no pushover. _It_ wouldn't be taken away from him that easily."

His companion snorted. "Yeah, right. Now where the hell should we go to look for him?" The taller one was in deep thought. "Should we call Cervello? I mean it is his organization—" The other figure suddenly yelled at him. "I ain't gonna rely on those bitches! Anyways, find any clues or at least a person besides Millefiore scumbags?"

The taller one scratched his head. "I think I saw the fedora-guy a while ago." His eyes widened. _'Fedora-guy? There's no way that would be him. He disappeared years ago!'_ He sighed in exasperation. First, it was his precious friend and now it's _that_ person. "Fedora-guy? Then… Nah. That couldn't be—"

He paused and turned to stare at the other. "Wait, what did he look like?" He tapped his chin in another round of deep thought. What did the guy looked like again? "Black hair, black eyes, black suit, black fedora, curly sideburns… I guess that's about it." The other whacked him on his idiot.

"CURLY SIDEBURNS! That's his tutor!" He gaped at his partner. The taller raised an eyebrow. "Really?" _'Wow, __how could I miss that?'_ His partner mumbled. _'Idiot.' _"Only he has curly sideburns! Maybe…" He pinched his temple lightly. "So that means he was rescued by those Vongola guys?"

The other frowned. "I won't be too sure about it but there is a big possibility." He crossed his arms. All of a sudden, his partner grabbed his left arm . "Let's go!" The taller one pulled his companion from his wrist and started to drag him away.

"You idiot, stop pulling me! I have a car." He pointed to the sleek black vehicle that looked very expensive. His friend furrowed his eyebrows. "You should be more eco-friendly. Cars contribute to pollution." He continued to drag the other.

"The hell I care about that!" Then they were gone.

* * *

><p>"And this is the kitchen. Any questions?" Giotto asked his new charge.<p>

Tsuna simply shook his head. "So uh, where will I be staying?"

"Ah yes. Right away." Giotto felt incredibly nervous around Tsuna. Whenever the boy was around, he felt thousands of butterflies in his stomach. His heart was also pounding like crazy and he was blushing to no end. And when the boy was around with other people, he would feel angry. Why?

_'Why am I acting like this? It's not like I swing that way or anything—'_ He blushed at the thought of liking Tsuna. His mind started to wander on perverted things, which he tried to erase from his mind. Damn Shamal and sex-ed he got from Reborn.

While Giotto was daydreaming, "…tto? Giotto?" He waved his hand in front of the blonde's face. Tsuna noticed the guy had red on his cheeks and was out of it. "Giotto, are you even listening?" He began turning his head fiercely in different directions. "Who? What? Where?"

The brunet raised an eyebrow. "I said I have an announcement later on after dinner." The blond boss rubbed his head sheepishly. "Oh. Haha. Sorry, I was just thinking." His blush subsided. The Arcobaleno rolled his eyes. "Obviously, you were red all over. If I didn't know you better, I would've thought you were thinking something dirty." The blond froze.

Silence.

"…You were, weren't you." Tsuna deadpanned as he stated it in an as-a-matter-of-fact way. At that, Giotto began to splutter and blush all sorts of red. "A-Ah… u-um… no!" Tsuna smirked. "Right." The blond sweatdropped. His intuition's been nagging him that the brunet was tainted by Reborn's sadism.

Because of that little remark, Giotto's face was bright red all the way to Tsuna's room.

_'It's so fun to tease him.'_ He paused, eyes widening as realization kicked him in the face. _'God, I'm starting to act like Reborn—'_ Another realization hit him that didn't make him feel guilty about the other predicament. _'Not that I haven't acted like him before.'_

When they arrived, Tsuna and Giotto part ways and the former settled in. He started to unpack when he spotted a picture in his suitcase. It was a family photo. The brunet's eyes softened as he brushed his fingers slightly on top of it. The inventor grimaced when he saw his father.

_'This brings back so many memories. Looking at it makes me feel nostalgic.'_ He shook his head knowing that things will be okay. After all, his aunt is here to help them. And his brother? He's with the Bovino for now. He's pretty sure his ally would protect him.

_'I'll be there soon. Yu-chan, Lambo, mom, dad. Wait for me a little longer…' _He thought as a single tear fell from his eye. His eyes also flashed orange. He proceeded to arrange his stuff. That includes clothes, the picture, tools, equipment, 2 black boxes and a heirloom-like item.

He heard the distant voices of his past.

_"Would you give everything up for him?"_

_"I'll do it, no matter what the price!"_

_"All it takes is a simple reset and repeat."_

_"It was a failure again, huh."_

_"Time's a tickin', Tsunayoshi Sawada. You better hurry or else it'll be too late."_

After he finished, "Maybe I should walk around a bit." Tsuna already met everyone else so he left the room.

He didn't saw the item flash for a moment before dulling back.

* * *

><p>The blond boss sighed as he watched his surroundings. <em>'Looks like the mansion's peaceful again, I suppose.'<em> He sort of wanted explosions around, now that he thought of it. The place wouldn't be Vongola territory without the daily chaos his guardians create. He blinked when he saw G and Asari walking towards his direction. Giotto smiled and was about to call out to them when—

The walls came crashing down around him. His two friends were shielding themselves from the sudden explosion. He then saw the shaking chandelier from above. The boss was about to shout at them, when his voice was stuck in his throat. Giotto watched as his friends were crushed by it; bloody and dead on the cold floor. The blond screamed and dropped on his knees. He continued to yell tunil his voice was hoarse. Numerous skeleton-like creatures wearing checkered fedoras appeared and charged at him. He closed his eyes for the inevitable, finding himself unable to move.

After a while, he didn't feel anything. He opened his eyes and saw a blurry figure, back facing him. He had Sky flames burning on his forehead and fists, just like him. The figure killed the monsters and turned to him. The figure smiled, yet he couldn't tell who he was because his face was blurry. He was saying something to blond but all he could pick up was static.

"You're… now, …tto. …cker… wouldn't get… this… around."

Giotto raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you trying to say? I don't understand—" He was cut off when he felt immense pain on his stomach. The blond stared down and saw a sword protruding from his abdomen. He saw the other having a blank face. The Vongola boss felt words involuntarily coming out of his mouth.

"I… you knew?"

The figure had a sad smile. This time, his speech was loud and clear. "I'm sorry, Giotto. I failed you again." _'Again? What do you mean?'_ He thought.

A ticking clock echoed in his ears. Someone whispered, "Reset, repeat."

Giotto found himself staring at G and Asari again, they were going towards his direction. The blond smiled. _'It was all just my imagination.'_ His intuition flared.

This time, instead of dying by the chandelier, the two were shot from the outside. The same figure from before was running towards him. He was reaching out to him. Giotto found himself smiling and feeling relief at seeing the other. However, his warm feelings were cut short when he felt searing pain on his head. The boss realized that he was shot in the head by the same assassin. The figure shrieked in alarm and caught him in an embrace.

Like last time, he saw the blank look after the figure shrieked. Giotto felt words coming out from his mouth, _again_. The exact same phrase. "I… you knew?"

And his response also remained unchanged. "I failed you again."

The echo of a ticking clock. "Reset, repeat."

Suddenly, he found himself being pulled back. The young boss blinked and found his surroundings okay. Giotto, alarmed by what he recently saw, looked around frantically for any sign of G and Asari. When he didn't see the two, he sighed in relief. The blond frowned as he walked away. _'What were those flashbacks? They were kind of creepy.'_

* * *

><p>Tsuna spotted Asari and Lampo in the hallway. "Hi Lampo, Asari-san." The Japanese swordsman waved at him. "Hi, Tsuna." Lampo simply shrugged. "Bow down to me, the great lord." He inwardly frowned. <em>'Just like Lambo… I miss him.' <em>The inventor rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

G arrived at the scene. He had a scowl on his face since Giotto used the excuse of Tsuna's tour to escape his personal hell called paperwork. Translation: Giotto ran away to slack off. He approached Tsuna. "Oi, have you seen Primo anywhere?"

"Ah, he just left my room a while ago. I don't know where he ran off to." He shrugged. He's not a babysitter. _'Do I even need to know?' _The Arcobaleno crossed his arms. "Did you look everywhere?" The right-hand man nodded and fished out a cigarette from his pocket. Lampo gave a loud, lazy yawn. "I'll tell you if you bow down to the one and only great Ore-sama." The maroon-haired male scowled. _'Screw Asari for teaching him Japanese noble crap.'_

"Like I would you stupid lord!" G smacked Lampo on his head. He started to smoke as he watch the green-haired guardian nursed his bruise. "Ow! How mean. Commoners should not hurt or reprimand aristocrats like me." It was a lot less convincing with him hiding behind Asari's back.

"Maa, maa. Force won't solve anything, G." He had his hands up, in the same way he did to calm others down. But it seemed that it just added fuel to the fire. G's temper was starting to run out again. Tsuna decided to step in. "G-san, please don't cause any trouble. Giotto might not like it when you break things."

Lampo stared at Tsuna, processing the words he said. "Hey, I just notice something." All eyes were on him. "Hm?" _'What is it this time?'_ The man with red (pink) hair twitched slightly. "Tsuna called him G-san, right? So he called G his grandpa?"

Tsuna had a lightbulb on his head and giggled a little. "Oh, I get it! Jii-san and G-san sound alike. Jii-san does mean grandpa." Asari nodded. "And his name is G. It kind of stands for grandpa in English." Lampo also nodded. "See what I mean?"

Unknown to the three, G's killing intent was leaking out. "Grandpa, huh? Come back here, you little idiot!" He brought out his gun and shot multiple bullets at Lampo. The other two just sighed. Then one of them realized where they were heading for.

Tsuna pulled on Asari's sleeve. "Asari-san?"

"Yes?"

"Isn't that the hallway that leads to Alaude's room?" He pointed towards the corridor filled with simple but fancy french-like decorations. He gave him a look that says, 'are they idiots?' Asari had wide eyes. "You're right! Alaude will kill them." He paled at the realization. The officer was going to beat them up!

"Maybe we should get out of here." He tugged on the other's clothes. The music lover pursed his lips as he jabbed a thumb at the two screaming gurdians. "What about those two?" The brunet looked into his eyes. _'He is sincerely worried, but I don't want to get involved in some nonsensical mess.' _Tsuna gave him a blank stare. "If we chased after them, we'll get beated up too." _'But I'm sure I won't get hurt.'_

The swordsman sighed and sweatdropped. He didn't want to be punished to death, so he gave up. The Arcobaleno started to go to the oppoiste direction. "Where're you going, Tsuna?"

"Talbot's lab." He was planning to help the man with his work.

Asari turned around and calmly walked after his fellow guardians. _'I better keep an eye on those two, who knows what Alaude will do to them once they've be found.' _His comrades' safety are of upmost priority, though he admits he doesn't want to. He blinked as the recent event replayed in his head.

Their daily bickering antics were getting old, pretty faster than it normally would. _'Odd,'_ The swordsman mused to himself. _'Now, where did that thought come from?'_

* * *

><p>Giotto's been sighing all day. Not only that Millefiore destroyed their properties and facilities, now they're after the Arcobaleno, whom the most important one is under their protection. <em>Their protection<em>. Meaning Byakuran would focus attacking on them more. And nowadays, they don't have much manpower here in Vongola. Nice.

But he really can't blame himself because if they let Tsuna get captured by Byakuran, who knows what might happen. But Byakuran has the Mare rings… they're doomed, either way. After all, Byakuran still plans to destroy their Family (since they're #1), Arcobaleno or no Arcobaleno.

He heard explosions outside. Giotto took a sneak peek from the window and saw G and Lampo were being chased by Alaude. Again. That's the sixth time this week. More zeroes in the monthly payment. Then he ran into Talbot, who had snacks with him. Hey, wasn't he supposed to be working?

"Talbot. Did you finish your work?"

"Ah. Well, I accidentally thrashed my work and Tsuna offered to help; insisting it was his fault." He rubbed his head sheepishly. The blond facepalmed. He really is grateful to him but sometimes, the blind man can be a bit careless… and creepy.

"Really? Where is he right now?"

"In the lab."

They proceeded to Talbot's lab only to be greeted by the sight of a totally focused and oblivious-to-the-world-at-the-moment Tsuna. Since they opened the door, Tsuna could hear the noises from the servants and more explosions outside.

Giotto smiled and greeted Tsuna. "Hi!" He merely ignored the man and replied, "Shut the door." Gosh, he hates noise when he's working. It's so irritating. _'No wonder Kyoya despises crowds a lot. They're too loud for their own good.'_ The blond gave a shaky grin. If Tsuna looked behind him, he would see the unnerved expression of the other. _'Why is he ignoring me?' _"How 'bout a hi?"

"Hi. Shut the door." Giotto frowned at the lack of response. Talbot rolled his eyes. "Sorry, he's just like that once he starts working. Seriously, what a workaholic." He sweatdropped and sighed. _'Like you're any better.' _The blond-haired boss wanted to add but shut his mouth before he could say it.

While Giotto and Talbot started a friendly chat, Tsuna suddenly blurted out…

"Success!" He threw both of his arms in the air and was smiling happily like Christmas came early along with New years. "Huh?" was the only intellectual response that the other two could say. The brunet kept cheering, not paying attention to the duo.

"I'm done! Victory is mine. Hacking is really easy! Hey, what's for dinner?" Tsuna said as he continue to change the subject. Giotto and Talbot sweatdropped. They scooted a bit, away from the Arcobaleno who seemed to be on crack. The blond started to whisper.

"Is he always like this?" Giotto pointed at Tsuna.

"Yep, always. If you've seen him everytime he succeeded in doing something good, he suddenly gets all giddy and randomly prattles a lot."

"I love pasta! I wonder what Spaghetti ala Vongola tastes like. Why'd they put clams in it anyway?" And he kept on ranting. The young Decimo decided not to bother. "Did the Ninth call?" The blind man scratched his chin. "Ah yes. She said that Tsuna has something to give us."

"…Speaking of clams, why'd they name the Family Vongola? Vongola means clam, right? The name's pretty weird kinda like the Gesso Family. Gesso means chalk and it used to be run by that bastard."

"He does know we're not listening, right? And how does he change the topic continuously? Shoudn't he be running out of ideas by now?" Talbot shrugged. "Even though many have known him for a long time, no one knows how his brain works. And while he's blabbing, he actually pays attention to his surroundings." He was surprised. "Really?"

"…Did you know that he's a marshmallow monster? But jellybeans are much better than marshmallows. There was one time when…"

"Wow, he doesn't look like it. So what's for dinner?" Giotto queried. "I asked the maid a while ago when I went to get some snacks. She said we're having Japanese cuisine since Tsuna is a Japanese." Talbot replied. "Japanese food? I would love that." Tsuna joined their conversation.

"He was listening?!" Giotto was taken aback by Tsuna's sudden statement. "Told you so. He pays attention." Tsuna ignored their mini-chat. "What's gonna be there? Sushi? Curry? Takoyaki? Did I say ice cream is delicious?"

"He's at it again, isn't he?"

"Yes. Yes, he is."

"…I don't know how Fon's face turns all red and puffy when he eats one of those. Then again, Reborn's addicted to espresso and he can still sleep okay, so I don't really understand anymore…"

"Let's go before there's nothing left for us to eat and it seems he's not gonna stop anytime soon."

Giotto, witnessing the randomness of the cute little uke, just shut up and let it pass. Sometimes, there are things better off not knowing. He has a feeling that if he ever asks, he'll get a huge headache. And a lot more ranting.

* * *

><p>After an hour of waiting, Giotto's guardians arrived at the kitchen for dinner. As usual, G and Lampo were fighting. Knuckles kept on lecturing them. Asari was happy he could eat sushi. Alaude? Away from the rest of the idiots. And Daemon?<p>

"Nufufufu, it seems the rabbit is left unprotected." While Giotto and Talbot were calming G, Lampo, and Alaude (he got irritated again), Daemon appeared besides Tsuna and he scooted to him as near as possible. "Hi, Daemon-san." Tsuna was a bit uncomfortable that Daemon's face was close to his. _Too close_.

"You don't look very happy to see me, Tsunayoshi-kun? I'm hurt."

"I-It's not like that…" Tsuna looked like a cornered rabbit. An arm snaked around his waist and he gave a small squeak for he was pulled nearer to the illusionist. Okay, he's intruding too much of his personal space. When Daemon was about to lean closer to Tsuna's face (their lips almost touched), Alaude, surprisingly, pulled Daemon away. The little uke merely sighed in exasperation.

"Melonhead herbivore. For attempts of sexual harassment on a minor, I'll punish you to death." He took out his handcuffs. "Nufufufu. Like you can, Skylark the first." By then everyone had a question mark on their head. They understood the insult, Alaude is a type of skylark. But seriously, Skylark… the first? What a lame insult.

While those two were at it, Knuckles joined in saying something like 'BROTHER BONDING TO THE EXTREME!' and G was complaining about the fact that they were soiling the holy aura of Primo and brought out his gun. Asari was merely laughing saying how much fun they were having and Lampo whining about 'unnecessary noise is an inappropriate for a noble such as myself'. Giotto himself was having a hard time trying to calm them down. The two inventors literally facepalmed.

"Maybe we should help Giotto out." Talbot suggested. The brunet shrugged. "Fine, fine. Leave it to me." His blind colleague put a hand on his shoulder. "You'll get killed, Tsuna." The other gave him a smirk. "Trust me. I know what I'm doing."

He approached them. "Will you all stop fighting, please? I don't want to witness an all-out massacre." He said with matching puppy-dog eyes. Oh, how ukelicious he looked. It elicited nosebleeds, blushes, and awkward stuttering.

Giotto was bright red. All his life, he never saw something as cute as that display. "A-Ah, you don't n-need to w-worry…!" Besides, who can say no to such a face? If he refused, he'll feel guilty like he committed a murder. He inwardly groaned. _'If Reborn saw me right now, he'll kill me!'_

If G was drinking something, he would've done a spit take. Who wouldn't when the person in front of them is oh so delectable?

Daemon was holding back a nosebleed (he failed to do so) and muttering how Mukuro and Chrome were lucky to have such an adorable boss. First, he thought Giotto was cute. But looking at Tsuna, he can't compare to the uke-ness of the other.

Knuckles bellowed as he saw the other people's condition. He shot both of his fists in the air and shouted, "EXTREME NOSEBLEED!" Lampo had his mouth agape and pressed a tissue onto his nose. He does not want to end up humiliating himself like Daemon who didn't even bother wiping the blood off his nose.

Asari was stammering and rubbing the back of his head. "A-Ahaha, T-Tsuna really k-knows how to catch everyone's attention." He felt thousands of butterflies in his stomach. If Alaude wasn't composed, he would've let the blood from his nose flow. He was fighting the urge to jump the cute little rabbit herbivore and he was also surpressing his blush.

After a few non-stop stammering (includes Alaude), they finally got their composure together and sat awkwardly at the dining table. Tsuna just smiled innocently like nothing happened but to tell you the truth, he's smirking inwardly. He also put a hand over his mouth to silence his snickers and giggles. Good thing they're all distracted by that puppy-dog eyes act that they didn't notice him holding in laughs or else he would end up in a graveyard. Not that they _can___send him there.

And so, Talbot learned to _never_ underestimate Tsuna because he is one scary and manipulative 16-year old. He was the only one who noticed the smug look along with the innocent smile that the kid gave away. Though he won't be surprised since the kid used to be under the 9th guardians' tutelage. Especially under Reborn.

Unfortunately for the guardians, Reborn filmed the whole thing and even took pictures.

_'They're so gullible,'_ Tsuna mentally smirked. _'Gets them everytime.'_ He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side, staring confusedly at the table. _'What did I mean everytime?'_

* * *

><p>"Mommy, do you think Tsuna-nii's gonna be okay?" Yuni asked Aria, her blue eyes glimmering sadly. Her mother slowly petted the girl's head as she stared at the door, as if expecting someone to enter. "He'll be fine, Yuni. I'm very sure he won't give up until he has fixed what he started." Her daughter smiled at her.<p>

That smile grew wider when the door opened and a familiar-looking blond entered their vision. Yuni ran up to him and gave the man a hug. "Daddy! I'm so glad you're back!" Aria walked towards the duo. "Hello, dear. You're quite early today. Is something the matter?" _'There is something fishy about him.'_

"I'm sorry…"

"What do you mea—?"

Two gunshots echoed in the night.

* * *

><p>"Hm, you must be Mirai. Welcome to the Millefiore Family." Byakuran grinned wickedly as he observed the cloaked person before him. Said figure had his face covered by the hood, not wanting to show himself. When the white-haired man gave a hand out, he took it and moved his own arm robotically. The Millefiore boss turned to stare at the older, burly man with him simply stood at the sidelines; a bemused smile on said man's face.<p>

"And I presume you are Checkerface?"

"You are not mistaken, bearer of the Mare Sky ring." The man with the metal hat replied. His grin widened when he saw the other pause for a moment, slightly shocked at the revelation. This was too easy. "Do not wonder further how I knew that. Old man Bermuda told me about you."

Byakuran still had that mocking expression on his face but his eyes were a bit narrowed and sharper, trying to bore his violet orbs through Checkerface's form. _'How suspicious.'_

Mirai had a monotone look underneath his mask. "Quit it, Checkerface. Anyways, it is a pleasure to work with you." He had his other hand behind him, and clenched it slowly. _'Calm down, Mirai. You shouldn't let yourself loose. Not when everything is at stake here, especially when Lady Aria's counting on you.'_ The figure thought to himself. _'I won't fail.'_

Checkerface bowed before the cloaked man. "Understood, milord." The fox-like man watched them. "I guess that he is a Japanese?" The masked person nodded. "Yes."

Mirai faked a cough to get their attention. "As you were informed, I am the representative that Lord Bermuda sent. He told me to asisst you in capturing someone. Who is our target?" He crossed his arms. The white-haired man darkly chuckled. "Oh, it's someone that Bermuda knows too well."

He paced around the room, stopping in front of the window. The moonlight gave him an eerie effect, and his long black cape swished along with the cool breeze. His creepy smile didn't help either. The white-haired man looked like a demon in the shadows. The masked person himself went rigid at the sight. _'The devil indeed.'_

Byakuran looked at them once more. Checkerface's expression became serious. "It is the Sky Arcobaleno, Tsunayoshi Sawada." Mirai's eyes widened but it was not seen. The hand behind his back clenched tighter when he felt a certain someone's presence fade away. _'There's no way. It can't be…' _He directed his stare towards the dark sky.

_'Lady Aria!'_

* * *

><p><strong>Will only write at least 3,000 words10 pages per chapter. Can't do more than that unless in the mood.**

**Edited with some mistakes and added scenery. The characters are also gonna be really OoC. Checkerface appeared! Oh, and Mirai's not an OC. More mysteries to come people!**

**Ciao ciao~! -Flonne.**


	4. Ch 3: Encounters

**Replies:**

**13animenurd13: **Thanks! Tsuna says thank you too. I updated right away 'cause I don't want to be attacked by your flame tonfa wielding kawaii tubby cat.

**patty00:** Since this is AU, Talbot is Giotto's version of Giannini so he's not old. Just old-looking. Giannini? Maybe some other time.

Also thanks to Ilyasviel16, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, XxShiroumiArisaxX, YuujouKami, Kichou, and iloveyaoi-G27 for the reviews.

Enjoy, everyone~!

**Please vote on the poll in my profile!**

Clockworks – 8

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* * *

><p>"Hello, Tsunayoshi." Tsuna turned around and saw… himself. He blinked as his look-alike walked towards him. The brunet was puzzled. Is this guy his doppelganger? He was broken out from his thoughts when his clone faked a cough to get his attention. "I'm not your doppelganger or your clone. I'm also you, but as you can see; I'm older."<p>

He tilted his head in curiosity. "What do you mean by that?" It was true. The doppelganger looked about a few years older, yet the light in his eyes were quite dull; as if he has experienced something he shouldn't have. He frowned. "Is there something wrong with my face, Tsunayoshi?"

Tsuna shook his head. "No, it's just," The boy stared at the ground instead. "_It seems that you have a heavy burden on your shoulders.'_ Was what he wanted to say, but he failed to utter the words. The older Tsuna smiled a knowing smile; a smile that at just one glance, you'll be able tell that said person can see through your being.

"So what should I call you then?"

"You may address me as Yoshi."

His gaze never left the man. What did he want? As if reading his thoughts, Yoshi lost his warm demeanor and entered a business-like mode. Every fiber of his being simply oozed an aura of seriousness and authority.

"I'm here to warn you, my younger self."

"Warn me about what?"

"About Checkerface." The man wryly grinned. "In my future, or someday yours, he has complete control over Trinisette." He closed his eyes like he was remembering something unpleasant. "He… killed people just to get his hands on those artifacts. That's where you come in." The younger gasped. _'Impossible. Besides the bearers, those artifacts only answer to me. Was there something wrong with them?'_

The brunet seemed confused. "Me?" His older self nodded. "Yes, you. You are its creator, the key to open use its true capabilities. And that's why you shall make the Arcobaleno." The inventor had a huge question mark on his head. "Arcobaleno… 'rainbow' in Italian, yes?"

"Mhm. The Trinisette is very dangerous. It should never fall to the wrong hands." He crossed his arms. "The Arcobaleno are supposed to be the upper guardians; the protectors of this power." Yoshi sighed. This was never supposed to happen. Not at all. _'But it's not like I can do anything about it.'_

The man stared into the deep eyes of his younger counterpart. There was still hesitation flickering in those orbs, but he can see pure, vibrant determination beyond them. The boy eventually wavered. "I understand." Tsuna looked down.

His older self kneeled down before him and held his hands. "For now, we shall end this meeting. But I will guide you on how to get things done. Just trust me and have faith in yourself." As the scenery faded, Yoshi had a grimace on his face; yet Tsuna didn't notice it.

"There is no other choice." He glanced at his shaking hands. "I'm sorry for giving you a curse you can't break," The man gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

"Because once you get caught in the endless cycle, you can never escape."

_'And I just started the never-ending pain you never deserved.'_

* * *

><p><em>Again and again,<em>

_I'll tear apart the shadows of distress_

_That spilled out and walked on this world._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: Encounters<strong>

* * *

><p>"I have an announcement to make." Tsuna said, standing up. Giotto and his guardians finally snapped out of their stupors so they're thinking straight now. They also finished their dinner. Talbot was in deep thought. <em>'Is he actually planning to do it? No, I don't think he would. But there is a big possibility…'<em>

Reborn appeared out of nowhere and just stood by the exit. He just finished gathering new blackmail materials from their display a while ago. _'What are you going to do now, Dame-Tsuna?' _He closed his eyes solemnly. Something flashed before his eyes. _'What…?'_

_"Reborn, please listen to me. Watch over him, okay?" An older Tsuna gave him a sad smile as he waved goodbye, walking away. The hitman himself ran after the brunet. "You better keep your promise, Dame-Tsuna. I expect you to come back alive."_

_The brunet closed his eyes and beamed at him. "I'll try!" He turned his back towards Reborn. He muttered to himself. "But I don't think I'll be able to keep it. I'm sorry."_

The black-haired hitman clutched his forehead and pulled his fedora down, shadowing his eyes even more. _'What a strange event. I haven't had one in ages.'_ He paused in thought. _'What was it trying to tell me? To warn __me that Tsuna's going to do something stupid and dangerous?'_

Tsuna placed a black box in the middle of the table. He pushed the box towards Giotto, who was at the other side of the table. He opened the box to see seven differently colored rings each etched with a symbol of the Vongola Family and the word 'VONGOLA' itself. Reborn's eyes widened. _'It couldn't be…'_ The hitman looked at his former student. _'Just what are you hiding, Dame-Tsuna?'_

Talbot looked surprised himself. "So those are… I see. Isn't it a bit too early?" He sent the brunet a worried stare. _'The situation is that bad, huh.'_ "No. Besides, they are making their move now. It's better to prepare things right now." Tsuna replied.

Giotto took the ring in the middle and stared at it. "So um, what're we supposed to do with these rings?" He wore it and felt nostalgia. A voice rang in his mind.

_"Are you going to propose to me, Tsunayoshi?"_

_"T-That's not it, idiot!"_

_'Huh?'_ The blond simply shook it off as his imagination. _'I'm getting delusional. I think all the stress with paperwork is getting to me. Yeah, that must be it.'_ His intuition kept nagging him, though.

Daemon smirked. He recognizes those rings anywhere. _'The famous artifacts… never have I expected that I would see it right now.'_ "Nufufufu. I didn't think you would be in possession of the Vongola rings, Tsunayoshi-kun."

"Vongola rings?" Everyone chorused (except Alaude, of course).

"The Vongola rings are priceless heirlooms passed down to the next boss and guardians of the Family." Reborn explained, sitting down besides Talbot. "It is also a part of the famed Trinisette, the three sets of seven that are used to maintain the balance of the world."

"That's right. These also contain the Wills and memories of the Vongola dating back to the First generation Family." Tsuna added. "Not only that they're sentimentally valuable, each ring possess great powers that can fully harness one's dying will flames. They are S-class rings, on par with the Millefiore's Mare rings." _'The rings are also tainted by the blood of others, although I don't think any of you should know that yet.'_ He mentally added.

G asked, "Then why are you showing this to us now? Why didn't you give it to us during the Inheritance ceremony?" The brunet deadpanned and shrugged. "Well… shit happens." Everyone sweatdropped at the brunet's exclamation. Talbot said, "Let me answer for him."

He pointed to Tsuna, who looked like he never said what he just did. _'You really don't care about what others think do you, dear friend?'_ "During the ceremony, the Ninth was about to give you the rings. Because of the sudden turn of events, she had no choice but to give them to Tsuna instead. There's a possibility that many rival Families would take advantage of the conflict to get those."

"Since then, communication between us was lost and no one knew why. We didn't have the opportunity to call back Tsuna until recently. The special intercom we used to contact him was out of commission." Reborn informed. All eyes were on the brunet, who nodded in confirmation.

"I totally forgot!" The Arcobaleno suddenly exclaimed. All heads turned to him. Asari asked concernedly. "What's wrong?" He sighed. "I had two of my own guardians with me when I was coming here. I got separated with them because of Millefiore."

"And who did you bring along, Dame-Tsuna?" The hitman had a feeling who it was. He asked just to make sure. _'It would be most likely that he brought those two idiots with him.'_

"It's—"

An explosion suddenly occurred. The alarm went crazy. "**RED ALERT! RED ALERT! INTRUDERS HAVE BREACHED SECURITY PERIMETERS!**" Their eyes widened as Alaude smirked. Finally, he could vent out his frustrations. Poor intruders. He ran out of the room, weapons in hand.

"What?! Who could've done that?" G asked. The Storm guardian's gaze remained on the door, knowing that the Cloud was ready to destroy something. And it's definitely not a false alarm if _that woman's_ voice was heard unlike all the others. Reason why is because Reborn orders people to do surprise assaults just for training (torture).

"Yare, yare. Just finished dinner and somebody barges in right after. I didn't even get to take a catnap." The green-haired brat rubbed his eyes."I'm sure it's not that bad to not rest just this once, Lampo." Asari said, patting the bratty lord's back. He was reaching into his clothes, grabbing three short blades.

"AFTERMEAL EXERCISE TO THE EXTREME!" Not gonna say who shouted that.

The alarm went off and was replaced by a monotonous computer-ish female voice. **"Intruders found. Two ****unidentified figures in the garden—" **The alarm was cut short. What. The. Hell. Tsuna deadpanned. _'That voice seemed familiar. I wonder why I feel like I have a faint idea on who that person was?'_

"TWO?! ONLY TWO?! How could they have breached securities that fast?!" Giotto accidentally shrieked out. The moment everyone's stare were directed on him, he clamped his mouth shut and clearled his throat.

He regained his boss mode aura. "I meant— it's really unlikely for someone to get pass the securities in a short amount of time. Whoever's trespassing must be good." He sweated profusely when he heard a gun click and Reborn's hand in his pocket. _'Don't shoot! Don't shoot!'_

"You're spared for that slip-up 'cause someone's attacking us and you managed to recover." The blond sighed in relief. He froze at his tutor's next remark. "The next time you pull off sometime girly like that, I'm putting you under tortu… training." He gave a sadistic grin.

Giotto silently cried anime tears. _'He said torture! He definitely said torture! I'm doomed…!'_ His inner chibi panicked and ran around in circles, but on the outside, he kept a calm face. "Garden? Isn't that just outside this room?" Tsuna asked.

"Right. Everyone, prepare for any attacks. Tsunayoshi, can you fight?" When Giotto turned to Tsuna, he already had his gloves on**(1)**. His Sky ring**(2)** is now on his finger (he was wearing it on a chain as a necklace).

The young boss sensed something headed for their direction. _'What's going on here?'_ The brunet was about to hurry out when Reborn grabbed his hand. _'Not yet.'_ His eyes showed. The Arcobaleno had no choice but to back down. The hitman smirked. "Why not leave the matter to Vongola's hands? You might find something interesting later."

"Whatever you say, Reborn."

Another explosion occurred. The wall and the kitchen were destroyed. The dining table was left unscathed. They all twitched at the damage. The Vongola Decimo frowned. They destroyed the priceless painting his sister made. _'I swear whoever did this will pay.'_

"Tenth! Where are you, Tenth?!" Hearing the familiar voice, Tsuna and Reborn froze. The tutor clicked his tongue. "_What the hell are those idiots doing?_" His murderous aura leaked out. Another voice joined him. "Maa, maa. Calm down, Dera. I'm sure Tsuna's somewhere here."

"Baseball-freak, one second delay can lead to his doom! We have to find him before—" They felt a very heavy and disturbing feeling in the air merged with Reborn's. Tsuna's killing intent was suffocating everyone around him. His dark aura is very intense so anyone could see it. There's one rule Tsuna burned into their memories that must never be broken, no matter what.

Golden Rule: Never disrupt any kind of meal.

And why does this rule apply to them? Yes, Tsuna wasn't finished eating yet and his precious sushi flung to the other side of the room because of the explosion's tremor. Also, there was no more food left and the explosion destroyed the kitchen.

"_Hayato, Takeshi. What do you think you're doing?_" The deep, murderous voice of Tsuna scared the shit out of all of them . Yes, by all I mean everyone present in the room. Both aforementioned guys audibly gulped knowing they just dug their own grave.

"T-Tenth?"

"Tsuna… a-ahaha… there's no need to get angry now…"

Their boss gave an innocent smile. It would've been okay if it weren't for that creepy gleam in his big doe eyes. Then he cracked his gloved knuckles which were now glowing brightly. If there is even a single god out there, have mercy on their souls.

Everyone shivered at the sight. No matter, better if it's those two than them… right?

The cute uke dragged the two to who knows where with Reborn following right behind him. The hitman also grabbed the box from Giotto and the ring he took out.

* * *

><p>A few moments before the aforementioned scene happened, Tsuna's two guardians were huddled together whispering like in a football team. "Dera, you sure this is okay? I mean, aren't we like going in without a plan?"<p>

"DON'T CALL ME DERA! By the way… you actually thought of that?" Gokudera paused then he continued. "We do have a plan. All we gotta do is: blast gate, blast anyone, blast wall, find the Tenth, blast our way out." Cue Yama-kun's sweatdrop.

"You're going to use your fireworks again?"

"These babies are not fireworks! Get ready 'cause we're breaking in!" Gokudera said while lighting up dynamites between each finger. He threw them and…

The first explosion.

The alarms seem to go on and on and on. How annoying. It kept on saying 'Red alert! Red alert!' The two of them immediately ran inside while they had the chance. A bunch of gun-carrying men in black suits appeared and fired at them, which Gokudera blasted them away. Yamamoto blocked the bullets with his sword.

"Come on, baseball-freak! Tenth's waiting for us!" The athlete laughed. "Haha! What a fun game!" They kept on running with Gokudera blasting their way in and the swordsman fending off the men chasing them. They proceeded into the garden. No men in sight. The alarm finally went off and both noticed the camera on the lamppost. Gokudera threw a dynamite yet again.

"Ooh, flashy!" Yamamoto exclaimed.

Gokudera merely growled at his partner's naivety. _'What a dickhead.'_ He rolled his eyes and saw a window. He also saw few figures but couldn't make out what they looked like because of the blurry glass. He decided to just blast it according to plan.He smirked as the wall was blasted into smithereens. _'Perfect.'_

After the explosion, he could hear panicked voices from the other side of the smoke. He also heard his precious Tenth's voice, but he didn't make out what he said. In his imagination, here's how it goes:

_"Someone help me! Please! Where is my right-hand man when you need him?" A cute moe Tsuna hands tied upward, he was hanging from the ceiling and some shady looking men had their weapons pointed at him. Tsuna's eyes were teary and looked very vulnerable. Oh how he could just ravish him—_

His imagination was ruined by some dirty thought. He shook his head and realized he _almost_ had a nosebleed and blood was rising to his cheeks. Good thing Yamamoto is _that_ dense to not notice the beet red Gokudera. The bomber sighed, mustered up his strength, and jumped into the smoke.

Then again, he was still distracted because the image of the half-naked Rain Arcobaleno entered his mind. And the other's arm around him didn't help calm him down, either.

"Tenth! Where are you, Tenth?!" He shouted with all his might, still flustered. "Maa, maa. Calm down, Dera. I'm sure Tsuna's somewhere here." Yama-kun patted his shoulder and stated calmly with a big grin on his face.

"Baseball-freak, one second delay can lead to his doom! We have to find him before—" Then as previously stated, they felt the murderous aura. When they turned to the source, let's just say the sight ain't pretty. Gokudera saw spilled food everywhere and immediately caught the message that they interrupted dinner. Aw, man.

On their minds (even if Yamamoto had no idea why Tsuna was mad), all the two thought was, _'We're so dead.' _

Well, back to Giotto, Talbot, and his guardians.

* * *

><p>After Tsuna dragged the two intruders (still unknown to them), all just stared dumbfoundedly at the door. Reborn chuckled to himself cruelly and followed soon after. <em>'I definitely won't miss out on something like this.'<em>

Giotto was the first to snap out of it. "What… just… happened?" There was just no way that happened. There was just no way that the sweet and kind Tsuna had an evil smirk on his face. There was no way he cackled like a witch when he took those guys. He shivered. _'I really don't want another Reborn here.'_

Lampo yawned and shrugged. "Who knows. But one thing's for sure; I'm definitely not cleaning up this mess. See ya later, Primo." He ran off. Lazy-ass. G facepalmed. "Great. More bills to pay. I'm calling the repairmen." He left too. And yes, he really is going to call the Vongola repairmen.

Knuckles slowly walked backwards towards the door. When he was now in the hallway, he shouted. "See you later to the extreme!" Daemon disappeared. Alaude came back, though he had an upset glint in his eyes. When he saw the room, his eyebrow twitched unnoticably and he walked away.

Asari stated, "I'm going to check up on Tsuna and it's also my turn to clean up the training room so…" and he was gone. Well, half of it was true. Giotto looked at Talbot. His eyes were sending him a pleading look. "Talbot, can you—"

"SorryPrimo,Ihaveworktodo!" The man ran away too. Giotto was left alone in the dining area/kitchen with a gaping hole in the wall and food or utensils splattered all over the place. He sighed out loud. Don't they even pity him with all the paperwork he does on a daily basis and they even leave the mess to his hands?

"They left me to clean up by myself. Again." He massaged his forehead for the upcoming headache he knows he'll have because of the number of zeroes he'll face in the bills. Also, the place will took forever to clean. He's sure this would add to his paperwork. He'll have less time to spend with Tsuna and even lesser time to keep everyone's paws off him. Wait, what?

Awkward.

An even redder blush dawned on his face. Why did he—?

After he finally pulled his thoughts together, Reborn himself appeared again. "Dame-Gio, come with me. We need to talk." Before Giotto could reply, the hitman dragged him by the collar, away from the destroyed room. The young boss sighed again. _'Oh well.'_

* * *

><p>"WHAT WERE YOU TWO THINKING?! WERE YOU EVEN THINKING AT ALL?! YOU GUYS CAUSED SO MUCH TROUBLE!" Tsuna was ready to tug his hair off. I mean, was it really necessary to blast their way in? They could always just sneak in and out of the mansion. Not only that, his precious sushi was ruined! They also left a really big hole in the wall. And now, Giotto might get angry at him, the guy won't like him anymore. Worse, he might leave him and he'll lose his chance of—<p>

Whoa, wait just a freaking minute.

Why does he care so much if the guy doesn't like him anymore?

And why the hell did he think about a chance of getting the guy?

He blushed at his own thoughts, anger dissipating. _'Stupid, stupid brain!'_ He then felt his heartbeat getting faster and faster by the second. His hands were all sweaty and his breath hitched a little. _'Stupid, stupid heart!' _Tsuna crossed his arms and pursed his lips together. Whatever. He forgot his anger on his two subordinates.

"Fine, I'm letting you off the hook this time." They brighten up at this. "But you better not do it again. Got it?" They vigorously nod their heads. And if they keep nodding that way, Tsuna's sure their heads would fall off. That was fun to imagine. Geez, Tsuna's such a sadist.

Forget this, where were they?

They were in Giotto's conference room. Reborn's idea. Speaking of which, where is the devil hitman? "Tsuna, I brought my loser student." The said devil appeared while holding the blond by his collar. Giotto pursed his lips. "I am not a loser!"

"Whatever you say, Dame-Gio." Reborn brought Giotto along when he disappeared (when did he?). The blond stared at him blankly. "Uh, Reborn? What now?" The hitman facepalmed. "And I brought the rings with me. I also called the guardians (via insects)."

* * *

><p>Tsuna saw himself falling down an endless abyss, surrounded by the darkness. Countless shadows reached out to him as his other self sang, misery clearly reflected in his voice. "I'm falling, down into my shadow and I hold my breath because what's waiting is a deadly night." He could hear continuous ticking of a clock. The brunet held his hand out to his falling counterpart, trying to catch him. His other self smiled back at him, gaze empty and broken. The inventor was captivated by the bottomless pits of the counterpart's amber orbs.<p>

"Don't watch. You're a part of this, too."

"I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"You're the reason why this cycle started."

Blinking, he found himself in the counterpart's place; falling endlessly. He tried to stare at the end, but his view was being blocked by too much brightness. The Arcobaleno found himself slamming hard onto a large stained glass stage. He braced himself for the pain that was coming, but he felt none. Tsuna finally saw the shards. The stained glass had the images of Trinisette and Arcobaleno on it. As the shards fell along with him, he saw his own reflection from different scenarios. One of them was from his earlier flashbacks, himself paralyzed on the ground with Giotto stabbed with a flame-covered hand.

He noticed himself eating ice cream with Giotto, spending time with him on a festival, and others. There was even a shard that showed the three skies of Trinisette: himself, Giotto, and Byakuran. On the side were the Earth portion of the sets: Enma and Cozart. Some shards from afar portrayed himself and Byakuran smiling happily, an arm draped over each other's shoulders. The last shard he saw was him and Giotto holding hands.

_'What are these images?'_

"Tsuna?"

"Tenth?"

Tsuna looked from his side and saw the concerned faces of his two closest guardians. _'Did I seriously blank out again?' _He shook his head at the two. "It's nothing to worry about. Just thinking, is all." The pair did not seemed convinced but nevertheless, they relented. Whatever the brunet hid from them, he'd tell them at the right time.

* * *

><p>Checkerface looked at Mirai. "Is there something wrong?" The teen shook his head. "It's nothing."<p>

The masked man gave him a suspicious look. _'I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't believe me. He knows me too well not to notice my lies.'_ He glumly thought. Underneath Mirai's cloak, his hands were shaking in nervousness and panic. His breath hitched slightly as the other was not paying attention to him.

He stared at the ground. _'And so the heavens have started to fall, one by one. Will the land be able to catch heaven or will it create a bigger gap for the heaven to fall into?' _"I wonder," His eyes shone with hope and anxiety. "Would you be able to change our course of fate, Unmei?" The teen knelt at the ground, his back facing his 'loyal' servant. Checkerface brought out the silver pocketwatch again. He whispered to himself. "Nothing will ever change, milord."

He tipped his iron fedora. "As long as I'm here, Giotto will lose to death, Byakuran will give way to insanity, and Tsunayoshi will succumb to failure and despair." A smirk made its way to his face. "Once the cycle starts, it will never end. Trinisette shall be mine."

* * *

><p>One moment later and everyone is now seated…<p>

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Hayato Gokudera and Takeshi Yamamoto. Storm and Rain Arcobaleno respectively." Tsuna introduced them, smiling as a dangerous gleam could be seen in his eyes. His two guardians gulped. Their boss mouthed a _'You better not mess this up or else'_. Well, here goes nothing.

"Yo!"

"Che."

"Takeshi?" Asari shockedly asked. He was actually here? What about his family? Yamamoto's eyes widened. He turned to the speaker and was just as surprised. "Asari? What are you doing here?" The Rain guardian of Vongola grinned goofily. "I was about to ask the same thing."

Knuckles joined their conversation. "You know each other? Extreme!" He flailed his arms in the air. The priest slung one of his arms around his fellow red-haired guardian. G sneered. Said person growled soon after. "Great. More airheads."

Talbot is curious. "So how are you two related?" He tried to hide a smirk as many things came into his mind about their connections. _'Hihi! If the Arcobaleno and the Vongola are correlated in one way or another, maybe the cycle might actually be…'_

They chorused. "Cousins!"

"Oh." _'Great,'_ The inventor hid his grin with his hands. _'If that's the case then there's a huge chance that the ending would be different this time. We must be bound to good luck, just like Destiny's name!'_

At the side, Alaude was itching to take his handcuffs but was abruptly stopped by Tsuna.

"Alaude, don't even think about it. Erm, introductions aren't the only reason why you're here today." He motioned to Yamamoto, Gokudera, and Reborn. Two of them caught the message. One didn't. Gokudera slammed his hands on the table. "You fucktards, Tenth here brought the stupid Vongola rings. So common sense, we're giving it to you."

Tsuna nodded to him. "And now I'll break the seal. Hayato, Takeshi, Reborn." The three approached Tsuna and placed one of their hands on the lid of the box while the brunet supported it. Assortedly colored flames covered their hands (according to their flame type).

The brunet Arcobaleno said, "I, Tsunayoshi Sawada, Sky Arcobaleno, break the seal of Trinisette on the Vongola rings. It shall be passed onto the next generation, Giotto Taru and his guardians." The box glowed orange. They retracted their hands and Tsuna opened the lid. The moment he opened the lid, the rings came flying to their respective owners.

Tsuna smiled, "Congratulations, Giotto!" Okay, I know it's overused and it'll ruin the serious mood but his smile is just too moe. Bah, who cares. All I can say is that they were blown away by the moe-ness.

When Gokudera saw the nosebleeds (Giotto, Daemon, Lampo) and the blushes (Reborn, G, Alaude, Asari, Yamamoto) he wanted to blow them all up. But he couldn't because he himself was busy trying to plug his nose so the blood would stop flowing. Talbot went to his own world thinking about something until Tsuna smacked him to wake up, which he did.

Reborn explained on what flame type the rings each possessed (I won't be explaining this).

By the end of the meeting, the hitman and the brunet smiled creepily. Everyone had a bad feeling about this… and Gokudera looked smug, too. Yamamoto looked eager and excited.

Tsuna announced. "From now on, we'll be training you guys on how to master the power of the rings!"

Reborn smirked. "And you will all be trained under the guidance of the Arcobaleno."

The brunet gave a feral grin. "We used to train under the 9th's guardians. Just imagine being trained by a bunch of spartans."

Gokudera was smoking. "Fucking Vongolas better be prepared. Us Arcobalenos ain't pushovers. We're gonna wipe the floor with you."

"Haha! Especially the Mist and Cloud guardians, be sure you're in top shape!" Yamamoto laughed heartily.

"Good luck everyone, their experience of years under Spartan tutelage is gonna haunt you for the rest of your lives…" Talbot trailed off shivering, knowing the fate of the 10th generation. He pitied them.

"Just one thing. We will fucking kill you if you don't take this seriously, got that?" The brunet asked with another innocent smile plastered on his face. He was holding a rifle (where'd he get that?) and pointed it straight underneath Giotto's chin. It was a disturbing sight, really. An innocent little rabbit bearing big sharp fangs. Who would've thought of that?

The 10th generation were all left dumbfounded by the 3 Arcobalenos, Reborn, and Talbot in the conference room. They all had their jaws dropped.

* * *

><p>Giotto opened his eyes and found himself in a corridor that looked like a checkerboard maze. Nothing made sense except for the straight path in front of him and the door in the horizon. The blond walked towards the door. He opened it and was surprised that the door collapsed. The young boss jumped back to avoid it. He stepped outside and was greeted by the sight of a warzone, where everyone was dead. He squinted his eyes and saw a cloak-wearing figure in the distance. <em>'Who is that? Maybe I can ask him where I am.'<em>

"Hey!" He shouted to the person, faintly noticing that his intuition didn't pick up on anything. The cloaked person turned around and gave a faint smile. For some reason, his face was blurred. "I remember now. I remember everything, Giotto."

"I don't get it," The boss murmured. "Um… I don't understand what you're trying to say. Can you please explain it to me and tell me where this place is?"

Tears fell to the ground, and the cloaked figure went down on his knees. "I can't believe it. I killed him." He raised an eyebrow. _'Who is he talking about?'_ "I killed the one person who took care of me." He clenched his fists and pounded them to the ground. His arms were shaking in anger and pain. "I did everything for you and him, and I ended up destroying whom I would call my brother." The figure looked at his shivering bloody hands. "My hands are tainted with blood. _His_ blood."

Giotto knelt down in front of him. "It wasn't your fault," The blond felt the urge to comfort this person. "You didn't want this." He saw the bodies that littered the ground. They were his precious famiglia, and some people he didn't recognize. In the horizon, a bright green silhouette floated. The silhouette was headed straight for them. He pushed the figure away and felt a searing pain in his chest. _'W-What…?'_ Blood splattered on his pristine dress-shirt. The young boss collapsed on the cold, hard ground. He heard the cloak-wearing person scream in alarm.

_'I can't move.'_

His eyes were still open and he was still aware of his surroundings, but his entire body was paralyzed. He felt a pair of warm arms encircling his body, while hot tears poured on his face. "I won't let it end like this!" Rainbow-colored flames covered the duo while the green silhouette shielded himself. "You will pay for this!" An explosion occurred and blew away the enemy. The green-colored person had smears of red on him and weakly raised his hand in the air. A dark portal appeared underneath him, and he fell into it. The enemy escaped.

Seeing what has transpired, Giotto heard his protector laugh humorlessly. "Y-You…" He felt hands clutching his sides tightly. "I-I can't lose you, too."

"Would you give everything up for him?" A shadow loomed over them. From what his intuition can tell, his cloaked companion recognized the new arrival. Said companion hugged him and looked at the man. Determination flared in his eyes.

"I'll do it, no matter what the price!" The man smirked and held out a pocketwatch at him. "Do you remember this?" He gasped. "T-That's… but I thought it was taken…"

"I stole it back for you, here." The man tossed the trinket. "You would know what to do with that, right? You are its creator."

He smiled wearily at him. "That's right." He held the watch and looked at Giotto. The blond saw familiar eyes staring back at him. "All it takes is a simple reset and repeat." He wounded the pocketwatch's hands and fiddled with the date, time, and year that was displayed on it. "Thank you."

"Anytime, Unmei-sama. I wish you luck."

The cloak-wearing figure chuckled. "I'm not the Head of the Cervello anymore, nor am I Unmei. I am simply a normal teenager." He was about to press the button on top of the pocketwatch. The teen smiled at Giotto. He felt a warm feeling in his chest and a cold shiver down his spine. The blond's intuition was practically screaming at him to stop the adolescent from continuing it. Something about the man screamed dangerous and dishonest.

"I'll see you soon, Giotto. I promise you, the next time we meet won't end like this."

_'What are you going to do now?'_

And he pressed it.

The blond felt himself falling down. The man who gave the pocketwatch had an unholy smirk on his face. _'It started, it finally happened.'_

Giotto saw the cloaked teen tied by strings to a huge clock. An hourglass was hanging down from his neck, with most of the sand on the upper part. He finally saw his protector's face as he plummeted further into the darkness, feeling his consciousness slipping away.

_'Tsunayoshi?'_

The young boss opened his eyes. He immediately sat up and looked around his surroundings frantically. He sighed in relief when he found himself in his room. Giotto stood up and stared at the grandfather clock at the side. _'It's still 2 o'clock in the morning?' _He placed a hand on his forehead. "I must be too paranoid, that's why I had that nightmare." _'But still,' _He couldn't shake off the awful feeling.

_'Why do I sense that I really did experience it in the past?'_

The blond merely shook his head at the thought. "I must be really paranoid right now. I think I need to get some shut-eye, especially with the Millefiore causing trouble."

* * *

><p>Byakuran woke up with the start. Sweat trickled down his face. <em>'That's the tenth vision from a parallel world now.' <em>He watched his subordinates outside, running and scurrying off to finish their work so that they could go home. For a moment, his subordinates doubled in number; including the people from yet another parallel reality. The white-haired man frowned, rare seriousness showed in his features. _'My powers are getting out of hand. I need a vacation.'_ He was about to stand up when he suddenly froze, violet eyes flashing green.

A smirk appeared on his face and his playful demeanor came back, albeit with a hint of cruelty. The albino looked down at his men. _'Useless grunts.'_ His hand flickered with tainted orange flames. They had a hint of black and dullness in them. Byakuran was going to unleash an attack on them when his flames died down. His green eyes turned back to their original violet. The white-haired boss clutched his head in alarm. "I blacked out again." He started to laugh hysterically, as he cried.

"How wonderful," Byakuran whispered with an edge to his voice. "I don't get this world anymore!" _'I seriously thought of killing them for their incompetence. I'm not usually like that.'_ His eyes flashed back and forth from violet to green. His insane laughter echoed in the room.

In a corner, Checkerface watched the Millefiore boss with interest and concealed amusement. _'It seems that his mind has started to crack. About time, too.'_ He stared at his side where a familiar blond-haired man with teal eyes stood. He had a dazed expression on his face. "Just like yours had from earlier, right Gamma?" The man could only nod in reply.

Outside, in the hallways, Mirai was searching for his assistant. "Checkerface, where are you? I have a bad feeling about Lady Aria!"

* * *

><p><strong>(1) <strong>Tsuna's gloves are his new gloves in the manga and instead of 'Vongola Famiglia' written on it, it says 'Arcobaleno Rainbow'. The crest of Vongola is replaced by the symbol of Trinisette w/c is 3 circles with 7 slots.

**(2)** Besides the pacifiers, Tsuna and his guardians have the Vongola gear (not upgraded version of V. rings) and cambio forma. Giotto and his guardians only have substitute rings. If anyone asks, the Varia arc is a battle for successorship, rings not included. The Shimon Arc comes after and instead of Vongola gear, they just had upgrades on their weapons.

* * *

><p><strong>So for the pairing all27, not everyone is included. Like for example, Knuckles and Lampo. Hm, the Sun guardian's technically a priest so cross him out and I just can't seem to picture Lampo and Tsuna together. Or in Lampo's case, he'll just blush from the moe overload but there would be no way whatsoever that the two would ever do anything on a romantic level. So yeah, no pairings for them.<strong>

**Aside from G27 and all27, there are also other side pairings; which are still a secret for now.**

**Ciao ciao~! -Flonne.**


	5. Ch 4: Foreign emotions

**Replies:**

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: **Saw one mistake and already fixed it. And thanks a bunch for liking this!

**FaerieDemon:** I'm not sure about the epic part but yes I agree that an evil & cunning Tsuna is a great & lovable one. Mwahaha!

**Lilspring:** Yep, spartan is the way to go! Thanks a lot for the advice, too.

**animebaka14:** Yeah, you'll get pretty confused about who's and what's if you didn't read the info chap. Btw, your wish will get granted. Giotto & his guardians must be prepared. Oh, and I didn't understand your question in Chapter 3. What do you mean by character thing shorter?

**Ilyasviel16:** Thank you for the criticism. Glad to know the romance isn't rushed. Yay! Evil Tsuna 4ever!

**XxShiroumiArisaxX: **So hope everyone learned their lesson to never mess with him. Giotto & his guardians thank you for sympathizing with them. Hope they live long enough to be in the chapter after this.

Also thanks to Kichou, patty00, YuujouKami, and Vongola-Nicole; with the rest of the recent readers whose reviews I have yet to see.

**I THINK I SAID THANKS OR THANK YOU TOO MUCH. OH WELL~ :D Enjoy this chapter!**

**Okay, this was sort of late because I was busy with college and didn't have the time to go online. I was also focused on removing the plot bunnies that were invading my brain.**

* * *

><p>"What did you want to talk about, Tenth?" The silveret inquired.<p>

"Gokudera's right, Tsuna. You usually don't call everyone unless there's a party or an emergency. And I'm pretty sure no one's celebrating their birthday on this date." Yamamoto joined the right-hand man as they stared down the brunet. Tsuna fidgeted in his seat and gulped, feeling the stares from his friends. He sighed before answering. _'Well, here goes nothing.'_

"I was thinking about Trinisette," The boy started. "and what if it falls into the wrong hands?" Seeing their disbelieving looks, he held up his hands in surrender. "Hear me out first. Anyways, I've decided to create a new set. It's not exactly an additional artifact to the Trinisette." He brought out a black box and opened it, revealing one rainbow-colored pacifier. Tsuna carefully fished it out from the container to show it to his friends.

"I call it Arcobaleno."

Everyone stared at the trinket when a red-haired male raised his hand. Tsuna looked at him. "What is it, Enma-kun?" His shy companion hesitated for a bit before asking, "Why did you call it a set when there's only one of it? Does that mean you'll distribute it?" He smiled. Despite Enma's timid demeanor, he can be observant when he wants to. The brunet nodded to him while making the pacifier glow by channeling his flames into it.

"This pacifier will divide itself into 9 parts, which will make the set."

Mukuro raised an eyebrow. "Who is it for?"

"The pacifier will be divided among us, depending on what our flame element is. The Arcobaleno pacifiers will be used to negate the Trinisette if it's misused." His Cloud guardian growled silently, whacking his tonfa on the wall. "There's a catch, right omnivore?" Tsuna nodded hastily. "Y-Yes. With the pacifiers, our powers will be boosted greatly. Unfortunately, this great power comes with a price," He closed his eyes. "The price is the responsibility and curse the bearers will receive."

"Curse?" Chrome fearfully whispered. _'Why would Boss create something dangerous? It's not like him.'_

"The Curse of the Rainbow. We'll be stuck as babies forever and we can't interfere with any war, unless we were involved by others." Tsuna looked at the ground. "Will you accept the power of Arcobaleno?" When no response came, he bit his lip and seemed forlorn. '_I can't blame them if they don't accept. I think I'm asking too much from my friends.'_

He was greatly surprised when they agreed. Ryohei was the first to voice out his approval. "Of course I will, Sawada. If I take this extreme power, I can use it to protect everyone precious to me!" His statement made him smile.

Lambo was next. "Yare, yare. Do you really not trust Lambo-sama to accept this challenge?"

Gokudera snapped out of his thinking stupor. "I will follow you to the ends of the earth, Tenth!"

"I don't think I can live peacefully knowing that the Trinisette can be used for bad things, haha! I won't let you carry this burden alone, Tsuna."

Enma nodded. "You saved me and the others back at Shimon. It's about time for me to repay you."

Mukuro 'kufufu'-ed. "Just make sure you'll do this job properly, Tsunayoshi-kun." Chrome shyly smiled. "I will never abandon you, Boss." The brunet turned his eager puppy-dog eyes to the prefect.

Hibari turned around to hide his blush. "Hn. I'll punish the herbivores who will disrupt the world's balance."

Tsuna gave them all a bright smile. "Thank you, everyone." A blinding light came out from the pacifier. It broke into 9 rays, one for each of them. When the light faded, the 9 teens were replaced by 9 babies wearing pacifiers of their flame.

The female illusionist looked at hers. "Night?" Her boss grinned. "I guess you didn't know but you actually had the potential to control the 8th flame." His friend from Shimon was puzzled. Why was his pacifier colorless, instead of brown? "Tsuna-kun?"

"I guess you can use all 7 flames of the Earth, like how I can use those of the Sky." He emphasized his point by lighting up rainbow-colored flames from his hand, even when it was clear that his pacifier was orange.

And thus, the Arcobaleno was formed.

* * *

><p><em>The time that ticked away ceaselessly,<em>

_Now announces the beginning._

_Putting my unchanging feelings into it,_

_I'll open the closed door._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: Foreign emotions<strong>

* * *

><p>The other Arcobaleno finally arrived a few days after Tsuna's first night in the mansion. Talbot led them to the conference room where the others were. Tsuna's intuition warned him to put on his headphones. And he did. Giotto also got a warning from his intuition, but he just shrugged it off.<p>

Reborn looked at Tsuna's direction and saw he was putting on his headphones. He immediately caught the answer why he was doing that, so he turned Leon into a pair of earmuffs. Everyone whipped their heads to the door when they heard numerous footsteps (except Tsuna & Reborn).

**BAM!**

"WE ARE HERE TO THE EXTREME!" A loud booming voice echoed in the room. A white-haired teen with a yellow pacifier barged in, making the door flung to the other side of the room. There goes their eardrums too. Good thing Tsuna and Reborn came prepared.

Knuckles also seem to be intact, so he replied with a loud yell, "EXTREEEME! IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN RYOHEI!"

Ryohei recognized his brother. "KNUCKLES, LET'S SPAR!" He proceeded to punch the older man. The priest punched him in the same manner.

"Shut up herbivores or I'll bite you to death." A raven-haired teen came after. He was brandishing a pair of tonfas and looked really pissed. He also had a purple pacifier. But his statement was ignored. While Ryohei was sparring with his brother, "SAWADA, JOIN THE BOXING CLUB! AND I ALSO BROUGHT LAMBO!" He tossed the said curly-haired child in the room (how?), making the little cow-kid bawl. Everyone covered their ears to prevent further damage.

Then, a thick mist enveloped the room and two pineapple-haired teens entered. One is a boy that has heterochromatic eyes and an indigo pacifier while the other is a girl with a purple eye, a skull eyepatch, and a gray pacifier with black squiggles on it.

"Real flashy, Mukuro." Tsuna rolled his eyes at his guardian's antics. Seriously, he just has to make an eye-catching entrance. Every. Single. Time. He even makes those entrances during undercover missions (which doesn't really help).

"Kufufufu, of course. Someone like me and my cute Chrome-chan needs a beautiful entrance. Don't you think so too, Tsu-chan~?" He approached and cooed the brunet Arcobaleno.

The eyepatched girl soon followed and greeted him. "Good day to you, Boss."

G looked incredulously. "I knew Daemon was never human. Did he call his fellow fruit-people?" Laughs and snickers could be heard.

Gokudera smirked. "Hey, I thought of that too!"

Asari smiled. "I wonder what fruit will come out next. Apple? Mango? Banana?"

Yamamoto grinned sheepishly. "I don't think I can ever look at them the same way again after you mentioned banana. That would be disturbing."

Giotto also joined them. "A Daemon with a banana hairstyle? Now, that's new."

The image of a banana-haired Daemon entered their minds. They all laughed out loud like maniacs.

Mukuro ignored their remarks and instead had a creepy smirk on his face. He hooked his arm on Tsuna's waist and pulled the brunet closer to him. "Why hello there Kyoya-kun, kufufufu." He taunted Hibari, who was hatefully glaring at their direction. He dodged a tonfa from the prefect, making him release Tsuna. And Tsuna was caught by the raven-haired teen. Oh goody, they haven't introduced themselves and they're already playing catch with Tsuna as their ball.

After Mukuro appeared, Daemon pointed to Hibari who was scowling at the pineapple-haired teen. "Alaude-kun, would you look at that. It's Skylark the second."

"Hn." Alaude gave an uninterested grunt.

After the little taunts between Mukuro and Hibari, he growled loudly (for once)._ How dare they touch his prey_. Meanwhile, Daemon's smirk froze. His brother had the nerve to take away his newfound toy. Reborn had enough of their behavior so he fired his Leon-gun which caught everyone's attention.

Tsuna waved nonchalantly to his two rampaging guardians. "I think that's enough for one day, you two." Begrudgingly, they obeyed. All sat down around the conference table.

"Dame-Tsuna, start. Now." Reborn rushedly said. He's a few minutes away from his daily coffee break so they better hurry up. Tsuna motioned to the newcomers. He also bribed Lambo with candy so he would stop bawling.

"RYOHEI SASAGAWA, SUN ARCOBALENO TO THE EXTREME!" His voice kept ringing in their ears. On the sidelines, Knuckles voiced out his approval by shouting 'extreme'. However a tick mark appeared on the silveret's forehead. "LAWN-HEAD, SHUT UP ALREADY! YOU'RE JUST BOTHERING EVERYONE!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, OCTOPUS-HEAD?!" The Sun and Storm glared at each other. Yamamoto got in between them. He held both of them apart by placing his hands on their shoulders. "Maa, maa. Calm down, Dera, Senpai. We don't need to cause Tsuna more trouble, right?" The bomber sighed and sat back down. The brunet sent him a grateful look. _'Count on Takeshi to calm those two hot-heads.'_

G asked Talbot. "Are they always like this?"

"Not that I know of. All I was told is that they're rowdy."

Lampo, who was listening, scoffed. "Rowdy is an understatement. They're like walking megaphones." Gokudera heard them and he shot a glare that says 'shut-up-or-I'll-stick-my-bombs-up-your-asses'. They immediately complied to the threat. Tsuna gestured at Hibari to go next. Giotto managed to keep a calm facade but he was panicking internally. _'Like you guys are any better,' _He grudgingly added when he heard Lampo's comment.

"Kyoya Hibari, Cloud Arcobaleno. Get in my way or I'll bite you to death." He emphasized his catchphrase by making his tonfas glint. Everyone had a silent agreement that Hibari is very dangerous and definitely, definitely like Alaude.

Lambo came up next. "Gupyah! Bow down to the Lightning Arcobaleno, Lambo-sama!" The cow-kid kept on guffawing. His boss sighed. "He's my younger brother." The blond Decimo stared at him incredulously. He could not imagine that a bratty cow child would be related to the sweet but sadistic brunet.

"Tch. Still annoying as ever, stupid cow." Lambo stuck a finger on his nose. "And you're still an idiot, Bakadera."

"Why you little—" Tsuna stood up and stopped Gokudera from throwing his already-lit dynamites. He glanced at his last two guardians. At that moment, Mukuro and Chrome stood up. "Mukuro Rokudo/Chrome Dokuro at your service. Mist Arcobaleno."

"Is it possible to have two Mist guardians?" G inquired. She sighed. "I'm more of the Night Arcobaleno, but Boss recognizes me as his Mist too." Chrome replied. Some of them wanted to ask more, but with one glare from Mukuro they all shut their traps. Giotto tapped his chin in thought. Night flames… _'Where did I hear that before?'_

After the introductions, everyone chatted away happily (some glared and shouted).

Giotto scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "You know, I just noticed something." They all turned their heads to the young boss.

"You guys seem to have the same surnames and even look alike. What's up with that?" Almost all of them had a big sweatdrop on their heads.

Reborn rolled his eyes and Tsuna exclaimed sarcastically, "Nice going, genius. You noticed that _just_ now?" The only ones who noticed were the two aloof Clouds, the three Mist siblings, Reborn, and the two inventors. All the others were either too stupid to take note of that or too lazy to care.

Later, Talbot explained who-gets-who as their tutors and stuff. Hibari and Mukuro kept on getting Tsuna's attention. The others were glaring at the two, but they remained unaffected (duh). Tsuna's Cloud and Mist noticed that their biggest rivals are Alaude and Daemon (they should've thought of Giotto). Said blond was fuming at the side, not completely understanding the burning sensation in chest. He does understand one thing; he doesn't like the others getting too close to the Sky Arcobaleno. He fought the urge to facepalm._ 'Why am I so affected by him?' _He takes a sneak peek at the brunet. _'I mean, I just met him a few days ago.'_

There were many protests. Mainly the two hot-headed Storms who didn't want their boss to be with some wimp or a girly-looking boy. The next were the two Lightnings complaining about being stuck with a petty brat (they both are).

Hibari and Alaude complained by threatening Talbot with a tonfa/pair of handcuffs. Giotto wanted to say something, but decided not to. Mukuro and Daemon, surprisingly, didn't say anything. What were they thinking?

_'This is my chance to get rid of the stronger competitors.' _Mukuro thought with a sly grin on his face.

_'I'm gonna get my brother out of here, next is Alaude's brother, then Alaude himself.'_ Daemon inwardly smirked.

In the end, the brunet and Reborn dragged Giotto away, with the rest following behind.

Before Alaude and Daemon could go, Hibari and Mukuro stopped them and exclaimed, "Nobody touches my Tsunayoshi/Tsu-chan but me." After that _almost_ love confession, they glared at each other. Daemon swore he saw small sparks between their stares. But just 'cause they're scary doesn't mean they scared them enough to back away from Tsuna.

"Nufufufu, what makes you think you can make me give up?" Daemon brought out his scythe and Mukuro blocked it out with his trident. They both disappeared into the mist. Alaude growled at his cocky brother. He brought out his handcuffs and Hibari brought out his tonfas, again.

"I'll punish you to death." Alaude taunted.

Hibari smirked. "If you can." Then all hell broke loose while they kept on changing their location. They had no idea Giotto heard them, and said person felt his heart clench.

_'Why would I care anyway? It's not like I'm gay for Tsuna or anything.'_

* * *

><p>The two spartans dragged Giotto to the humongous open field and threw him carelessly.<p>

"What was that for!" He complained.

"Dame-Gio, this is where you'll train." Reborn shot Leon at Giotto, who in turn dodged it. But he tripped and fell on his butt, hard. Tsuna sighed in exasperation. _'Sometimes, I think he's much worse than I was before Reborn trained me.'_

"That hurts…" He groaned in pain. After a few minutes of complaining, he saw a bazooka in front of his face. Giotto immediately sweated profusely. Tsuna also had an evil smirk on his cute face.

"Get on your feet, Giotto. Before we start the 1st phase, you'll do some warm-up exercises." A blackboard came out of nowhere and what written on it was Giotto's warm-up regime.

_**1.**__ Light push-ups. 100 x 100_

_**2.**__ Light running. 100km x10_

_**3.**__ Light situps. 100 x 100_

_**4.**__ Light jumping jacks. 100 x 100_

By now, Giotto's shaking badly. "I-I have to do t-that…?" A huge sweatdrop was on his head. _'This is light?!'_

"Pretty much. Don't worry, it's just light warm-up. By the way, you have a total of three phases for you to complete." The young boss sweatdropped at the brunet's plan. His sadism fully takes over during training. Giotto groaned. How is he going to do all those? Will he survive long enough to fight Byakuran?

_'And here I thought Reborn was bad enough.'_ He grimaced, then he spaced out. _'I wonder how the others are doing, Talbot did warn us yesterday that all of them are Spartans.' _A giddy feeling replaced the former burn in his chest. Knowing that the brunet was going to spend time with him (even if Reborn was watching), reassured a part of him somewhere deep down.

From the sidelines… _'Worry about yourself first, Dame-Gio. Tsuna won't go easy on you.' _Reborn thought as he watched him get out of it while Tsuna was taking out his weapons from his backpack**(1)** and reloaded his machine gun.

* * *

><p>They went to a training room filled with sandstorms. Gokudera got it installed when he first arrived (don't ask how). It's the sandstorm training room made especially for the Sistema C.A.I. he invented some years ago. He opened a box weapon he borrowed from Bianchi. Out came a swarm of Storm scorpions.<p>

"Here." He tossed a bow to G. "Use that instead of the gun. A bow is harder to aim. Practice your marksmanship." He brought out dynamites and lit them up with Storm flames.

"Don't be such a prick. Destroy all 50 scorpions in one minute and evade my dynamites at the same time."

G snarled. "How am I supposed to do something like that? It's ridiculous!" Gokudera threw him a bag. When G opened it, he saw lots of box weapons.

"What's this for?"

"Figure it out yourself. Rocket bomb!" He put a dynamite in the shooter's mouth and it released a powerful Storm blast. G barely dodged.

"Get up! I don't want my charge to bring disgrace to the Tenth. Light the ring and slam it on your bow!" And G did as he was told.

Gokudera continued to barrage him with different kinds of explosives.

G grimaced. _'Looks like I'm not gonna get out of this unharmed.'_

* * *

><p>When Asari entered the dojo, he felt a malicious intent and a surprise attack. He blocked it with a bamboo sword. The shadow retreated to the far end of the room. The lights turned on and he saw...<p>

"Hi, Asari." Yamamoto is sitting cross-legged on the floor, a bamboo sword on his lap.

"Oh! So it was you. I thought it was someone else, haha." He grinned and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Maa, maa. No enemy is going to attack us. Anyways, your old man taught you about the Shigure Soen Ryu, right?" He got a nod.

"Well, I heard from hat-man**(2)** you also learned how to light up your rings. And so…" He lit up his pendantwith Rain flames and he swung his bamboo sword. It turned into a real katana and it was covered in flames. A swallow also appeared on his shoulders. "…I now know what I need to teach you. Do the same with your sword. Infuse your flames with the Asari Ugetsu**(3)**."

Asari's bamboo sword turned into a real katana, as well. His sword looked exactly like the Shigure Kintoki except the markings on the blade and the color of the hilt. The markings on Asari's sword looked like water or ocean currents while the hilt is black. His sword is also covered in Rain flames.

"You are going to master the Shigure Soen Ryu and handling your flames. I am also going to improve your swordsmanship. Better not get hit, okay?"

He turned to strike Asari head-on. "Shigure Soen Ryu, 11th offensive form: Beccata di Rondine (Swallow's beak)." His cousin could only block his attacks because of the force and speed he showed.

_'11th form?! I thought there were only 9 forms_**(4)**_! I better…' _"Shigure Soen Ryu, 2nd defensive form: Sakamaku Ame (Rolling rain)." Asari lifts waves of water around him (Rain flames), then ducks, putting his sword protectively in front and he successfully blocked some of Yamamoto's strikes.

"Too slow." Yamamoto hit Asari with the back of his sword.

He had a sharp look in his eyes. "Don't be such a pushover. Stand." Asari panted.

_'This is gonna be a long day.' _"Shigure Soen Ryu, 8th offensive form, Shinotsuku Ame (Pelting rain)."

Yamamoto grinned sheepishly, but he had an almost unnoticeable gleam in his eyes. "Maa, better stay focused! Just because we're cousins doesn't mean I'm going easy on you."

* * *

><p>"EXTREME MAXIMUM CANNON!" Ryohei shouted as Knuckles returned the blow with...<p>

"MAXIMUM INGRAM**(5)**!" He also punched, but too bad. Ryohei caught his fist without breaking a sweat.

They were in the training room. Typical, but that's where hot-headed boxing idiots go to.

"That was really extreme. BUT YOU HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT!" Ryohei sent a barrage of punches. Knuckles was scraped, here and there.

"Kangaryuu!" A Sun kangaroo was summoned. "Attack! DOUBLE MAXIMUM CANNON!" Ryohei and Kangaryuu hit Knuckles at the same time. The priest tumbled to the other side of the room.

"You can do better than that! MAXIMUM INGRAM!"

"THAT'S THE SPIRIT, KNUCKLES!"

It looks as if they're just sparring but actually, Ryohei wants to help Knuckles develop a special attack. Before they started, the priest asked for his help because he felt something powerful in his fists ready to be fired whenever he practices, and he had a feeling it might be a new move. So they're trying to make it happen again and let things flow.

* * *

><p>Somewhere in the lounge room…<p>

"Play with me."

"No. Go bother someone else."

"I wanna play here, and I, the great Lambo-san, tells you to play with me."

"Don't you understand the word 'NO', brat?" Lampo said. Lambo just huffed.

"You should be honored that the greatest hitman in the world wants to play with you."

"Just get out, brat."

"Gimme candy and I'll leave."

"What?" Lampo's getting fed up now. Not only that this brat is going to train him, he orders him around too. What did he do to deserve getting stuck with him?

"I said gimme candy."

"Don't wanna. Ore-sama is an aristocrat so commoners like you shouldn't order me around." He smacked Lambo on the head, real hard.

The cow kid cried. "To… le… rate." Then he gripped his legs. "I can't! WAH!" He bawled.

"Yare, yare. Why did they stick me up with a snot-nosed brat?" That remark just made him bawl louder.

He brought a helmet out of his afro**(6) **and he wore it. "Gyuudon!" A big black bull with its body covered with Lightning flames came out.

"What the—"

"Stupid! Stupid people must die!" He continued to wail and the bull chased Lampo around the hall. When the bull was near Lampo, "NOOOO!" a huge electric shock came to him soon after.

Oh, how he regretted not giving candy to the kid who loves doing tantrums. Very violent ones at that.

* * *

><p>"Tch."<em> 'I couldn't even land a scratch on him. What's going on?' <em>Alaude thought.

"What's wrong? Can't accept your loss? What a herbivore." Hibari rolled his eyes. The older skylark gave an inaudible growl. "Shut up or I'll punish you to death."

"Whatever." He brought out the spikes on his tonfas.

"Hmph."

"Hn." _'Let's see what you got.' _Hibari went into his fighting stance once more and went to strike again.

Alaude growled. His brother really became a cocky brat. How dare he call him a herbivore! He'll show him how pitiful and weak he really is.

Hibari smirked inwardly. Looks like his plan is working. _'Irritation, the only thing than can make his dying will flame come to life. That bronco better be telling the truth.'_

The shockwaves from the ballroom could be felt even in the deepest underground level where Mukuro, Chrome, and Daemon were training.

* * *

><p>"Ah! You two are finally here." Chrome was waiting for them. She knew along with Tsuna and Reborn that Mukuro and Hibari taunted their charges so they can trick them into training because they all know that those two doesn't listen to anyone. They go on their own pace and cause lots of trouble despite everyone's protests.<p>

"Kufufufu, so we are, dear Chrome."

Daemon's smirk was strained. He's really irritated. Mukuro had the nerve to drag him to who-knows-where and ignore him, too! "Nufufufu. Why don't you focus more on our battle, dear Mukuro." He was about to reap Mukuro when his scythe was blocked…

…by none other than Chrome.

"Daemon-sama**(7)**, we both said that we are Mist. Therefore, you are going to fight the both of us." She has a staff instead of a trident. The end of her staff is made up of a circle with an indigo gem in the middle. The rims of the circle have spikes (6 of them) and the carvings on the tips are the same with Mukuro's trident. The head of her staff is also silver.

First, Chrome tapped the floor with her staff. Then countless fire pillars appeared. Mukuro did the same thing as her and instead of fire pillars, vines and lotus flowers came out of the cracks on the floor. The kanji on Mukuro's eye turned into '1'. "Oya, oya. Are you going to let this weak little illusion overcome you?"

"You seem to have underestimated me." All illusions froze, covered in ice. The female illusionist smiled. _'Impressive, but not enough to counter Mukuro-sama's illusion.'_

Chrome smiled sweetly, but you can see the mischievous glint in her lone eye. Mukuro smirked like a madman.

Daemon shattered the duo's illusion but you can see he's having a hard time. The illusion may be low-leveled for Mukuro and Chrome, but for Daemon's caliber, he'll have a hard time breaking it.

And so the infallible Mist tried to fade away. But he can't because whenever he tries, either of the two taps the floor with their weapons and Daemon's mist effect disappears.

* * *

><p>Mirai tried to sense the green-haired woman's presence but failed. He could not find any trace of Aria, <em>as if she never existed in the first place<em>. The hooded teen bit his lip as he paced back and forth inside the room. His trail of thoughts were broken when the door suddenly creaked open. The male stared at the entrance where four figures entered from. The first two were Byakuran and Checkerface. The third one was a man with pale blond hair and electric green eyes. The last had a black short bob hair with thick eyebrows and a sneering expression.

'_It couldn't be…!'_

The hooded male was shocked when he saw the blond man holding a pistol. He could see smoke coming out from the tip of the gun. Mirai saw red. He lunged at the man and proceeded to punch, scratch, and clobber the subordinate. The green-eyed male looked at him apologizingly. The teen growled at him loudly. "You are both a disgrace to the Giglionero as a guardian and as a family man. You have failed to save Aria and Yuni; instead, killing them with your own two hands. _I despise you_."

"My sincerest apologies, Mirai-sama." The teen stormed off, with Checkerface right behind him. The fedora-wearing man bowed before leaving.

Byakuran clasped his hands together and smiled evilly as a plan formed in his mind. "Just wait for further instructions. I believe I have a plan to get the little Sky Arcobaleno on our side."

"And what shall we do, Byakuran-sama?" The raven-haired man asked.

The albino placed a finger over his mouth. "My lips are sealed. Where's the fun in spoiling a good plan? There's no need to rush."

* * *

><p>The cloaked teen huffed before coming to a halt. He made sure he was as far away from the traitor as possible. Pure anger and hate bubbling up inside him, he punched the wall hard; drawing out blood. "Fuck this!" He slid down to the ground. "Why…? Is it because I wasn't strong enough?"<p>

Checkerface approached him and nursed his bleeding fist. "There is no need for you to strain yourself, Mirai-sama. What Gamma did was out of your responsibility." Inwardly, he was smirking like a madman. _'The reason why Gamma suddenly turned on you is because you are too incompetent, an imbecilic fool who knows that the situation is lost; yet refuses to leave like a fishbone stuck in my throat.'_ For a second, that smirk became visible; but it disappeared as fast as it came. _'You didn't even notice that something was off with him. Emotions are your greatest weakness, even after all the strain you've gone through.'_

Mirai felt numb, yet tears continued to pour down his face. "Unmei, how am I able to keep the promise I made? I failed you." His body shook as he sobbed. "I just hope this doesn't change anything. The time lent to you is running out so please," He buried his face in his bloody hands. "don't falter because of their deaths." His assistant closed his eyes solemnly and murmured to himself, looking at the pocketwatch hanging from his suit. "It won't be very long until the climax comes." He helps the teen stand up and pats him on the back.

"Stay strong, Mirai-sama. Stay strong for Unmei-sama." The cloaked adolescent nodded, sniffing a bit. The grown man saw determination flare in his charge's eyes. He clicked his tongue in annoyance. _'Tch. Seeing that resolve of his, he's going to be quite a handful from now on.' _Looking away from the pitiful teen in front of him, he reprimanded himself for almost forgetting what he was supposed to do. Pressing a button on the pocketwatch, he thought to himself, _The countdown has begun.'_

* * *

><p>Lightning and thunder rumbled in the sky as a young boy and girl watched the heavens. The two were on the rooftop of a skyscraper, not minding that they were being soaked by the rain. The children held their hands together.<p>

"Do you think he'll make it?" The girl turned to her companion. The boy shook his head but smiled encouragingly at her. "I don't know, but I have a feeling that things will be different this time around. I've already asked Sepira-san about her opinion. She simply said that the candles were being lit faster than the other cycles."

The girl nodded in understanding. "That means the memory process is faster, right?"

"Yeah," They went back to staring at the semi-dark sky. The rain finally stopped and the clouds looked like they were about to clear. The boy's eyes widened when he saw sunlight peeking through. The smile on his face widened. "Their bond has become stronger than ever before. It must be the work of the cycles."

"I really hope they win. I don't like seeing them after their failures, especially Tsuna-nii." A tear fell down the girl's cheek. "That must be selfish of me to wish only for his sake."

"We all feel the same. Out of everyone, he's the one who always carries the heaviest burden."

* * *

><p>Giotto was given a 15-minute break before continuing his warm-up exercises. He sighed to himself. <em>'Am I going to last long?' <em>He remembered a distant memory.

_"You can do it!" A teen with blurred face called out to him. He wiped the blood from the side of his mouth and whined to him. "Oh, c'mon! You and I both know that Reborn is hard to beat." Another teen walked towards them and waved at the blond. "Now, now. Don't be such a crybaby, Giotto. It's just a spar."_

_"Just a spar?!" He found his voice rising at the incredulousness of the idea. "Do spars make you bleed?!"_

_The third teen shrugged. "Sometimes. I once did with Mukuro-kun and Hibari-kun, and I ended getting more than just a lip cut." The younger of the two giggled. "Yeah, I remembered that. Your face was really swollen!" Giotto frowned at them. "That doesn't reassure me at all!"_

_"Please," The teen rolled his eyes. "Reborn's not gonna kill you—"_

_"Oh, good—"_

_"—he's just going to chew you alive, spit you out, and chew you again."_

_"That definitely doesn't make me feel better!"_

_The forgotten male placed a hand on the youngest's shoulder. "He said Reborn will chew you, not kill you!" He paced towards the blond, hoisted him up, and pushed him towards the ignored hitman; who was getting pretty pissed for being left out. The blond-haired male whined at them. "I won't last long here!"_

_The second frowned. "Do you want to protect those precious to you?"_

_"Yes."_

_"If it is really what you want, then there's no need to feel down!" The short teen gave him a thumbs-up. "Beat Reborn with your dying will!"_

_Reborn tipped his fedora a little. "Don't get too confident in him, midget. His head'll inflate and he won't be able to think straight." He aimed the Leon-gun at the so-called 'midget'. "And don't steal my line."_

_"R-Right." He looked at Giotto again and gave him another heart-warming smile, making Giotto feel butterflies in his stomach. "Do your best!"_

The blond smiled at the memory. Though he may not remember it happening in his life, it felt real to him. The emotions that coursed through him were definitely genuine and his intuition told him that it did occur. He just feels bad that he couldn't recognize the two teens in his flashback. From his periferal view, he saw a brown mop of hair approaching. Giotto turned to the side and saw Tsuna holding two cans of juice with a sheepish expression on his face.

"Here," The brunet tossed one to him. "you need a lot more energy for the next phase."

Giotto groaned when he heard it. He forgot that there was _more_ to his hellish training. The young boss looked up at the small smile on his tutor's face, feeling his own face heat up at that.

_'Maybe training wouldn't be as bad as I thought, after all.'_

* * *

><p>All headed for the dining room. Each one of them is sore in their own way. Giotto is still dragged all the way home because he couldn't move his body. Knuckles was all beaten up and had a big bruise on his left cheek and a few broken ribs (result of only a 10% Maximum Cannon). Lampo was charred (Lambo's Gyuudon). G himself was toasted because of the Storm scorpions' lasers. Asari's clothes were torn and he had many scratches all over his body.<p>

"Ugh. Those guys will be the death of us," G complained.

"They're nice and all but they're just too Spartan for me," Giotto added. _'I stand corrected. It's still as bad as I thought it was.'_

"Oh come on, they're not that bad." Asari smiled at them.

"Like hell! That's because you're too dense to notice that!"

"I'm extremely tired out. Ryohei really packed a punch," Knuckles said softly (finally!).

Talbot glanced at the charred aristocrat. "Lampo, how'd yours go?"

Lampo coughed. "Terrible. That stupid brat didn't do anything besides annoy me. He kept on bugging me for candy or to play with him."

Giotto raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"He summoned a bull out of nowhere and he ordered it to kill me," The aristocrat grumbled.

His boss's eyes widened. "A… bull? Is it a box weapon?"

"I don't think so." Lampo shrugged as he tried to fix his hair.

"Whatever. You deserved it, kid," G reprimanded. "By the way, I haven't seen handcuffs-bastard or melonhead-pervert."

"G…" Giotto shook his head. G had a habit of giving people insulting nicknames though it wasn't intentional.

"What?" G looked puzzled at Giotto.

"Nevermind. But yes, I agree. Where are those two?" After he finished, two really pissed-off auras entered. It was Alaude and Daemon.

They all gasped at the two's condition. Alaude had a bruised lip, a blackeye, more bruises on his face and he looked haggard. Meanwhile, Daemon looked like he hasn't slept for weeks. He had big eyebags, his eyes were all red, and he looked really pale.

"You guys okay?" Tsuna asked, walking inside. He was carrying a first-aid kit. Reborn and the Arcobalenos followed.

He walked over to the injured Vongolas and began to treat Alaude and Daemon. He looked so cute with his brows knitted together, focusing on the two's wounds. Everyone else's injuries were nothing compared to the two so they didn't get special treatment. He sighed inwardly. _'Mukuro and Kyoya did a number on them. Knowing Chrome, she probably helped.'_

All were glaring daggers at Daemon and Alaude, who smirked inwardly. Hibari and Mukuro cursed under their breath for the stupid idea. Maybe they shouldn't have beaten them up too much.

Giotto felt something inside him twist when he saw how Tsuna cared so much for his two guardians.

_Anger._

_Hatred._

_Sadness._

_Throbbing._

_Burning._

_Pain._

_'But definitely, definitely not jealousy.' _He tried to assure himself, but his intuition told him otherwise.

* * *

><p><strong>Eclipse: Countdown <strong>— **15: 07: 43: 28.**

* * *

><p><strong>(1)<strong> Tsuna carries a small backpack that is resistant to dying will flames. It contains Cloud flames for propagation so it could have a huge storage, w/c explains where he got his rifle (previous chapter).

**(2) **Takeshi here calls Reborn anything hat-related: hat-man, fedora-guy, etc.

**(3) **Asari Ugetsu is the name of Asari's sword just like Takeshi's Shigure Kintoki. Asari's dad (Tsuyoshi) named him after the sword itself. The original owner of the said sword also has the same surname (Ugetsu).

**(4)** Asari's 9th form is Frozen rain (his move when he fought Takeshi in the anime). He developed it during the Varia arc when he fought Squalo (supposed to be Takeshi developing 9th form: Utsushi Ame [Duplicate Rain]), but 1st to 8th forms are the same with Takeshi.

**(5) **Maximum Ingram (originally Ryohei's) will be Knuckles technique. He learned it from Colonnello (supposed to be Maximum Cannon) during the Varia arc.

**(6)** Lambo's hair is a little shorter and less bush-ier than his 5 year old self. He's not the size of a chibi-Reborn, too.

**(7)** Chrome's respect for Mukuro and Daemon are on the same plane.

* * *

><p><strong>Reborn:<strong> Boring and long.

**Flonne: **I won't disagree with that. And I'm the one who wrote it!

**Reborn: **But seriously. This. Is. Crap.

**Flonne:** I know! At least I covered the part where Giotto starts to feel jealous.

**Reborn:** How about the training?

**Flonne:** Sorry to say, but Giotto's will be the only one covered in part 2. I'll give a few sneak peeks on the others but I'll focus majorly on him. Don't worry, Reborn-san! If it's his training, you'll get more screen time!

**Reborn:** Better make sure. Show part 2. Now.

**Flonne:** *sweatdrops* H-Hai. Well, see you all again, desu~!

**Reborn:** Ciao ciao~!

**THE REST OF THE HUMOR IS IN PART TWO SO PLEASE READ IT! TILL NEXT TIME!**

**Spoilers:**The omake I mentioned last time will be moved to the next chapter since this one is too long.


	6. Ch 5: Just Another Day

**Flonne:** Part 2 is here! Mind you, the chapter titles are different.

**Giotto: **Why is that? *reads chapter* And why do I end up like that?

**Flonne:** I just felt like it.

**Reborn:** Just get on with the chapter.

**Flonne:** Gio-kun, get the drinks~!

**Giotto:** *sigh* (Too lazy.) Fine...

**Reborn:** Weren't you supposed to say something else?

**Flonne: **Oh, yeah. My bad. Thanks to everyone who read and/or reviewed this story, the two TV series **Wipeout** and **Takeshi's Castle** for Giotto's training, and my friend whom I used to share this account with for some humor ideas.

**Reborn:** You forgot to tell them something.

**Flonne:** Right. Anyways, I just want to ask you guys something! *gives a card to Giotto*

**Giotto:** *reads the card* **Question for the day**** -** Why did the great authoress **xXxAnGeLFLoNnExXx** named this story _**"Clockworks"**_? *pauses* You know, that title doesn't really make any sense. And why did you write great? You're not great.

**Reborn:** I agree.

**Flonne: **It's gonna be revealed when Byakuran makes a move! Which won't happen until a few more chapters. Just be grateful I paired you up with an uber-cute uke.

* * *

><p>"I know you can do it, Giotto!"<p>

The brunet cheered on the sidelines as his blond-haired friend tried his best to light up the practice ring that was given to him. His parents, trainers, and other friends told him that he was born to do something great.

…Sadly, he has yet to do so.

He panted hard. "I'm really thankful you're encouraging me, Tsuna. But I don't think I'll be able to pull it off." He was whacked in the head by a rolled newspaper. Tsuna gave him a glare. "Don't think like that. What happened to the guy who said he'll change the world?"

"C'mon. That's like, back when we were kids. We aren't anymore." He went down on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

The younger crossed his arms. "You promised that you'll become strong so that you'll protect your friends, instead of the other way around. Keep that up and it'll be a farfetched dream." He started to walk away. "I guess you were just fibbing, huh." He murmured to himself. "And here I thought you were different. Guess not."

"Wait."

He turned to meet the determined gaze of the blond.

"Let me try again."

Tsuna placed his hands on his hips. "Fine."

And after a few more attempts, Giotto was able to light up his dying will. A bright orange flame greeted him. _'So this… is my resolution.'_

* * *

><p><em>Awoken heart has started to run in order to draw the future.<em>

_Even if I come to a standstill on a difficult road,_

_The sky is always waiting for me in a beautiful blue._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: Just another day<strong>

* * *

><p>"Do it again!" A cute but terrifying voice could be heard. A machine gun was fired.<p>

"Y-Yes!" A meek voice answered.

"You call that training?! You've got to be kidding me!" The voice sounded like it came from a full-grown man. A pistol was shot.

Here, we see Tsuna and Reborn shooting a running Giotto. They've started the 1st phase of training: Coordination.

For Giotto to complete the 1st phase, he has to cross the 10-part obstacle course buit on the water field. Currently, our young boss is only midway in the 1st obstacle. He remembered what he read on the blackboard Tsuna brought. It said:

_**The 10 obstacles you have to clear:**_

_**1st -**__ A long, narrow, wobbly bridge with no handles or ropes on the side. You have to carry a ball to the other side to clear it._

_**2nd -**__ Slim rectangular platforms with small gaps in-between. Some of the platforms tilt._

_**3rd - **__A spinning metal log with ready-to-attack wrecking balls on the side. You have to cross without falling off or getting hit by the metal balls._

_**4th - **__Giant bouncing balls. One has to bounce his way to the other side. But it's too slippery and bouncy._

_**5th - **__Real rocks and styrofoam rocks. Some of the rocks are styrofoam, so when you step on it, it will move and you'll fall off._

_**6th - **__A narrow catwalk runway which zigzags in different directions. Be careful though, there's a spinning pole to the side that can smack you to lose your balance._

_**7th -**__ Rotating pillars. You have to get to the other side while stepping on spinning platforms._

_**8th -**__ Spikes. You climb horizontally on the wall to finish. The wall has numerous holes and there come out the spikes._

_**9th -**__ Rings of fire. There are many ropes and stands too. All you have to do is use the ropes to swing through the rings of fire and land safely on the platform past it. There are a total of 12._

_**10th -**__ Razors and blades. Jump through each of the platforms without getting sliced up by the giant razors or the mini blades which come out of the gaps._

_**P.S.**__ The lake is filled with crocodiles, mechanical sharks, electric eels and piranhas so don't fall, okay~? __**-Tsuna.**_

After he read it, the young boss sweatdropped. He was going to cross _those_? _'Is he trying to kill me?'_

Now, he tried to complain about how impossible it is to clear those scary metal death traps.

He shouted at Tsuna, "Are you trying to get rid of me?!"

But the brunet only replied, "You're not dead yet, so don't complain." He said naturally. What he said only made him even more nervous. Tsuna said he's not dead, _yet_. So there _is_ a chance he might die. He tried to protest more, but the cute brunet pointed the machine gun in front of his face and will not hesitate to shoot him there and now. No choice but to follow his orders, then.

And that's how he ended up doing it.

After a few rounds of Giotto being scraped by the bullets, falling to be chased by the abominations in the water, and bruising his whole body, Talbot arrived to check on them. Reborn left for his daily coffee break. The inventor, after watching how Giotto was tor— I mean trained, approached Tsuna. The brunet inventor looked like he was having fun.

"Tsuna."

"Hm?"

"Aren't you being too harsh? He'll end up dead!"

"Well, um… should I care?" Talbot facepalmed. No, it wasn't because Tsuna asked if he _should_ care. It was because the question was asked so sincerely and innocently.

"Can't you at least lessen the danger?" He pointed to the impossible-to-do course. Tsuna frowned. "Where's the fun in that?" Another facepalm.

"Seriously, you have to stop this."

"I'm so stupid!" Talbot seemed to have lighten up at this. "Yeah, that's it! This is plain outrageous." He thought Tsuna might've realized the weight of his actions, that he was going too far. But his hope faded when he heard…

"I left the extra ammo back in my room! Darn it." …that.

The inventor fell anime-style. He should've known better than to hope the kid would stop. As for the others… Talbot checked up on them too, before he went to Tsuna. This is how it goes:

G ended up burning his left arm, but Gokudera said his arm would heal in a few days. The reason why he burned himself? He didn't take the other's advice and kept on being stubborn. So he failed to control the intensity of the flame he was about to release.

Asari had a huge slash on his right shoulder. Apparently, since he thought everything is a game, he didn't take Yamamoto's attack seriously. So yeah…

Knuckles was knocked out. Literally. He kept on shouting EXTREME and didn't focus.

Lampo ended up charred by Gyuudon, again.

Daemon, he had bad dreams as a result from underestimating Mukuro and Chrome for the second time. He fell for Mukuro and Chrome's nightmare illusion so he'll suffer until he wakes up.

Alaude had broken ribs, broken arm, sprain, and a dislocated shoulder. Don't worry, Hibari took him to Ryohei, who gladly healed him. He just needs to rest for a whole day.

This continued for the next few days.

* * *

><p>The Arcobaleno, Reborn, and Talbot held a meeting about the training sessions. Giotto and the others eavesdropped on them.<p>

"So, how are their progresses?"

"Not much, my charge is a dickless piece of shit." Gokudera complained. Behind the scenes, G had a tick mark on his forehead. Giotto and Asari tried to calmed him down.

"Hayato, language please."

"Sorry, Tenth! I have defiled your divine presence with my vulgar tongue! I shall commit seppuku as a punishment for my insolence." Like any other anime character, he brought out a knife from nowhere and pointed it at himself. Tsuna crossed his arms and sighed. "Hayato, knock it off."

"I do not deserve your kindness!" Cue sighs and facepalms. The brunet turned to Yamamoto. "How 'bout yours?"

"From what I know, he's supposedly a fast learner. I don't want to sound bad but Asari wasn't much." Here, Asari's smile dropped. He knew he lacked a lot. The young inventor turned to his little brother. "Lambo?"

"He wouldn't stop whining, so I sent Gyuudon to chase him. His speed got slower." Lampo tried to hold himself. So it was really training? He was tricked! An aristocrat tricked by a commoner, and a snot-nosed brat at that! _'Why that little brat…!'_

"Onii-san?"

"Knuckles's punches were EXTREME! But not extreme enough. Your punches are much better!" Knuckles felt really determined. He vowed to make himself more EXTREME than ever. He looked pointedly at the Mist and Void Arcobaleno. "Right. You two?"

"Oh, you mean stupid Demon Pedo?" Insert Daemon's twitch. "I didn't even need to bat an eyelash on his illusions." Daemon snarled but his anger dissipated when he heard Chrome.

"I'm with Mukuro-sama. Daemon-sama's illusions are child's play." Chrome bluntly said. Talbot looked dumbfoundedly at the usually sweet girl. So she actually knew how to insult someone. Daemon sulked in a corner. His dear sweet sister mocked him. Giotto and Asari pitied Daemon. G wanted to laugh out loud right there if he wasn't too pissed himself.

"Kyoya?"

"He was being a herbivore." Typical Hibari. Him and his food chain instincts. Outside, Alaude growled loudly, itching to reach for his handcuffs. Knuckles grabbed his hand before he can do anything.

"I… see." The Arcobaleno sighed for the umpteenth time. _'When will the Vongola guardians ever learn?'_ "Ours aside, your charge… is he good?" Mukuro inquired.

Tsuna deadpanned. "He was weak." A pan of shame fell on Giotto's head.

Reborn added. "No-good." WHACK!

"Lame." BAM!

"A disgrace." BOING!

"Useless." BONK!

"Waste of time." BANG!

They chorused. "Totally pathetic." WHAM!

There goes Giotto's pride. They didn't have to be so harsh about how bad he was. He joined Daemon in the EMO corner.

Talbot sweatdropped at the hitman-brunet duo. The insults were too much.

* * *

><p>By now, G wanted to murder the two. He brought out his gun and was about to shoot when— "G… please. Don't shoot." He casually placed a hand on the maroon-haired male's shoulder.<p>

"But Primo, they mocked you!"

"It's okay. It's true, anyway."

Asari grinned sheepishly. "Well, Tsuna did say we should take this seriously or else they'll kill us. We really can't blame them for the insults." (refer to Chapter 3)

"We should work harder to the extreme!"

"Yeah! I think we're treating their training like a game, just because they're the same age as us."

"That's the spirit, Giotto." Asari smiled.

"We'll show them, right Primo?"

"Vongola, FIGHT!" Knuckles shouted, dragging G with him to form a circle. Giotto smiled and dragged Lampo. Asari pulled in Alaude and Daemon (from the EMO corner).

"YEAH!" Said Giotto, Knuckles, Asari, and surprisingly, G. Then, they all froze when a familiar murderous intent waved off from a certain someone. Several pairs of handcuffs were glinting, twirling around on both of his hands. "I'll punish you herbivores to death if you don't stop crowding."

"R-Right!" Then they scrambled off to do their own businesses.

* * *

><p>From inside the room, they all grinned. So they've finally picked up the message. Yes, they knew the others were outside.<p>

"Are they gone?" Lambo asked.

Tsuna replied, "Yep. Looks like they're all fired up. Good job, everyone!" _'About time they caught on what we're insinuating.'_ And for some reason, the brunet found the last word of his thoughts… quite dirty.

"The plan actually worked!" Yamamoto exclaimed. Gokudera beamed and looked proud at his boss. "Of course it would, Baseball-freak! Tenth is the one who thought of it, after all." In a confused state like Tsuna, the Rain guardian felt a pang inside of him when he heard the Storm praise the brunet so much.

The plan was to make sure that Giotto and the others will hear every insult to damage their pride so they would strive harder to improve themselves. After all, when someone's out of it, you need to smack 'em with cold, hard shame. "You know, you'd make a much better boss than Dame-Gio if you ask me." Reborn said.

"Yes, and I would've possessed you." Mukuro added. Tsuna rolled his eyes. "You sure?"

"Pretty much."

Reborn sighed. "If you weren't chosen to be the bearer of the Sky pacifier, maybe you would've been Vongola Decimo."

"Too bad. Anyways, what's for lunch?" Cue sweatdrops.

"You still have training to conduct, Dame-Tsuna."

"Who… cares?" He gave them all an innocent look. The hitman growled. "Just do your work." When Reborn was about to grab Tsuna…

"Oh, is that Giotto I'm hearing? Well, see you guys later~!" He fled.

Everyone stared at the door dumbfoundedly.

"What… just… happened?" Talbot asked. Hibari's scowl worsened. The dark gleam in his eyes seemed so much more sinister than before. His hands, which held his tonfas underneath his jacket, were twitching madly. "We just got ditched, herbivore."

"…"

"Hey, what's with the paperwork**(1)**? I thought we sorted it all out." Gokudera asked pointing to the stack of papers in one corner of the room. Reborn pondered about it for a while. Not that he thought of it…

"Let's see." Mukuro went to the stack and examined it. Like Hibari, a dark gleam entered his eyes. And he appears to be more murderous than before. "I think I know the answer." He brought up the paper he grabbed from the stack. What was written on the note made them run after Tsuna.

"That damn brat! Dame-Tsuna, where the fuck are you?!" Reborn ran out of the room.

"Tenth, please do your work!" The right-hand man soon followed after.

"That omnivore, I'll bite him to death." Hibari stood up and brought out his tonfas. He's ready to kill the cute brunet.

Mukuro 'kufufu'-ed and disappeared, muttering something like 'kill', 'rabbit', and 'dead'.

Lambo just shrugged and left to find some candy or someone to bother. "So Tsuna ran away from his work again, huh?" Yamamoto said. Ryohei nodded in agreement. "EXTREME GETAWAY! SAWADA'S BECOMING MORE AND MORE EXTREME THESE DAYS!"

Chrome smiled. "It's been a long time since Boss had some free time so I won't be surprised if he left us to do his work." The other inventor facepalmed. "It's not exactly his fault why there's so much paperwork." The unspoken sentence, _we're the reason why it piles up so much_, did not remain unheard. Talbot scratched the back of his head. "So what now?"

She blinked, clueless. "I don't know." At that moment, Tsuna appeared out of nowhere. "Those papers aren't gonna do themselves, ya know." And disappeared to who-knows-where.

Talbot raised an eyebrow. "Where'd he come from?" The Rain shrugged. "I have no idea, but Tsuna is right. We should start working."

"Even if it's not our job to do so?"

"Yes, even if it's not."

And so, Talbot, Yamamoto, Chrome, and Ryohei did Tsuna's job.

**Tsuna's note:**

_Have fun doing paperwork~!_

_-Tsuna._

* * *

><p>And now, we can see a tuna brunet running in the hallways. He's trying to find a good hiding spot where everyone least expects it.<p>

He ended up going into the maid's quarters. He borrowed a uniform from a friendly maid. When he walked out, nobody recognized him. His clothes are in a bag he borrowed from the said maid.

The brunet borrowed her uniform. Tsuna has long hair so he removed his ponytail and tamed his spikes.

The outfit is off-shoulders, and he has a white fabric choker with a big blue gem on it. He also had a lacey apron on him which hid his pacifier (it was a dead giveaway). The sleeves were white and puffy (kinda like Snow White). He also wore a pair of white gloves with a blue ribbon tied on the end. The blue skirt barely reached his knees and had frills on the hem. He has matching white stockings and black high heels. The attire is not complete without the headpiece, which is all frilly and has a blue ribbon tied on both ends.

He's actually embarrassed to wear it, but would rather lose his pride than die because of Reborn.You can't actually expect him to _not_ be even a little afraid of the hitman, right?

_'Now, where to go next?'_ He pondered. He clasped his hands. _'I know! Maybe I should go to my room and fix _it_!'_

"Miss!" He turned around to see…

…Giotto.

_'Holy crap.'_

Giotto's intuition warned him that the maid in front of him is not who he thinks _she_is. He ignored it and thought, _'She doesn't seem suspicious. Oh well. Maybe she knows where Tsuna is.' _"Have you seen a brown-haired boy, has spiky hair in a ponytail, and an orange pacifier too?" Tsuna feigned innocence. "I think a person like that ran into the maid quarters a while ago."

That was definitely not a lie but not exactly the truth either. _'Doesn't hurt to give him a half-truth.'_

Now Giotto's intuition told the young boss that the girl is not lying but is not telling everything. He shrugged it off. "Thanks anyway!" He waved and left. Tsuna breathed out a sigh of relief.

He also met the others, but none recognized him. That was until he ran into—

"Oof!" Just when he was almost there. Curse his luck. _'Why does pain always come in the form of one demon named Reborn?' _"Where do you think you're going, Dame-Tsuna?" Reborn smirked.

"Ara, who's that? I think you're mistaken."

"Don't play dumb with me." He loomed over the brunet. All he could think of was, _'Oh, shit.' _before he was dragged away.

* * *

><p>Byakuran stared at his fruit juice before he chugged it down. He smiled (with a threat underneath) at the kneeling green-haired man wearing the same uniform as Zakuro's. His subordinate gulped inaudibly. He knows better than to disobey or fail to complete his Byakuran-sama's orders.<p>

"You still haven't found him, Kikyo-kun?"

"Our deepest apologies, Byakuran-sama. It seems that the Vongola has a new headquarters." His hands shook slightly in fear.

"Is that so? Find any clues in the town?" Kikyo gulped after Byakuran finished. He knows the marshmallow freak in front of him will not hesitate to eliminate them if they failed. The green-haired man took a deep breath before answering. "One of our men reported that he saw a couple of hooded figures throughout the whole battle. He said they were wearing pacifiers, but before he could take a closer look, he passed out."

Byakuran's smile got wider. "I see. Carry on with the search." He gripped his drink so hard, that the glass shattered into many pieces. "And better make it snappy."

"Hai, Byakuran-sama. If you'll excuse me then…" Kikyo stood up from his position and walked away. He was thankful to all the gods out there that Byakuran was in a good mood.

The white-haired man's smile turned into a snarl. "You can run but you can't hide, Tsunayoshi-kun~. You will submit to my command and surrender _that_ item." He turned his head and looked at the two men in the shadows. "Don't you agree?" Checkerface nodded.

The cloaked teen was still sulking, but nonetheless grinned.

* * *

><p>"Where the hell is he?" G asked frustratedly. If they don't find Tsuna soon, they're dead.<p>

"How am I supposed to know?" Gokudera complained. He waved his arms around frantically, occassionally shouting his beloved boss's nickname.

Asari was amusedly. "I wonder where he is. Tsuna must've found a good hiding spot."

Everyone else reminisced about what Reborn told them.

_"Tsuna's missing." Reborn said casually._

_"WHAT?!" All of them chorused._

_"Was it the Millefiore? Who knows what might happen to him!" Giotto said. The Storm Arcobaleno lit a cigarette. "Don't worry. Tenth wasn't kidnapped. He's too great to be taken away just like that."_

_"Well, what happened?"_

_Reborn scowled. "He ran away from work." Sweatdrops here and there._

_"And what does that have to do with us, herbivore?" Alaude asked. His blond-haired superior laughed nervously. '_He just had to ask that, did he.'

_"Just find him or else." His eyes and Leon-gun glinted. Before Alaude could say anything else, Giotto covered his mouth. "Y-Yes…!" And they ran to find the brunet._

_Once they got out of the room, the platinum blond-haired male whacked his boss on the head before walking away. The young boss sulked in a corner as he rubbed his bump._

Reborn entered the room with Tsuna in tow. "I found him." He patted his backside lightly, making the brunet squeak in embarrassment.

"Really? Are we on the clear then?" Lampo was hoping they were off the hook. "Nope, because I'm the one who found him." They moped.

Giotto furrowed his eyebrows. "Where is he then? All I see is the maid I ran into a while ago." They all had to blush at how cute the maid was. The young boss wondered why he didn't notice that before. The hitman felt the urge to facepalm at their idiocy. "Idiot, this _is_ Tsuna." The cute brunet waved. "Hi."

The only logical thing they could say was "EH?!"

"T-That's T-Tenth?" Gokudera spluttered. G was speechless. "Why is the herbivore… cross-dressing." Alaude frowned because he broke the dress code (like that exists), but he actually liked it; deep down. Hibari tried to resist the herbivore. It was really hard to do so because Tsuna was showing way too much skin. He tried to supress his nosebleed with all his might.

Daemon had his jaw dropped. He looked really delectable. Now, he kinda wants to bring the little rabbit uke to his bed.

Asari laughed nervously as his soul went to heaven. Knuckles sighed loudly along with Lampo.

Giotto was blushing madly. _'Why does his maid outfit have to be so,' _His gaze went up and down the other's form. _'revealing…' _He shook his head frantically. _'No, I shouldn't think of things like that!'_

Mukuro grinned. "Are you trying to seduce us, Tsu-chan?"_ 'I really, really want to rip those clothes off of him.' _Sick pervert.

Tsuna tilted his head to the side, showing more of his creamy white neck. "Why would I do that?" He finished it off with a moe-ful smile.

Okay, things are officially out of hand. They all had major nosebleeds and passed out. Reborn was safe 'cause he ran away (he really did). Good thing he had great self-control but if he saw Tsuna's head tilt like that, he might've not made it.

Lambo walked in the room. "Mama, why is everyone dead?" Tsuna is his mother figure since their mother Aria is always busy. Anyways, he and Reborn are the only ones who can recognize him. Lambo, their parents, and Uni are the only ones immune to Tsuna's moe-ness.

Tsuna smiled innocently and gave him a peace sign. "I'm just too awesome for them." Lambo rolled his eyes. _'Like that answers anything.'_

"Just send them to Ryohei or something. I could care less." He was laughing inwardly. _'Someday, I'm going to thank mom for inheriting her genes. My looks always come in handy in times like this.'_

Lambo sighed. "You really have to stop smiling like that, Mama."

"Why is that?"

"Your smile gives birth to gay babies all around the world." He deadpanned. "Only the gaylord (guess who?) would like that."

Tsuna smirked evilly. "Whatever, it's pretty useful. You should try it sometimes. Well, I'm gonna get changed now." He left and headed for his room. The cow-kid stared dumbfoundedly at the spot where Tsuna stood. His Mama is very sly and cunning, as expected. The cow-child raised an eyebrow for he could not distinguish the twitching bloody mess on the floor. _'Who are the people soaked with that puddle anyway?'_

As if reading his mind, the brunet grinned mischievously. "The buffoon lying by my feet underneath all of them is Vongola Decimo." Lambo snorted, seeing the huge difference between the blond's regality during their first meeting and his current appearance.

In the end, Tsuna got away with ditching his work and even Reborn couldn't do anything about it.

* * *

><p><strong>Eclipse: Countdown — 15: 04: 52: 39.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>(1) <strong>Tsuna and his gang have paperwork for the costs and damages from the training sessions.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Omake: <strong>_**Pictures**

Reborn and Tsuna sat in a shady, dim-lit room. The room is empty except for a table in the middle with two chairs. On the table were pictures, but not just any pictures. They were pictures of Tsuna's first dinner in the Vongola mansion. The two masterminds chuckled darkly as they browsed the said photos. There were a total of 7 pictures.

First was a picture of Giotto. His face was really red. Both masterminds swore they saw a little tint of blood on the end of his nose.

Second was G. His face is as pink as his hair and he looked like he did a spit take.

Third is Daemon. They could clearly see some blood drippings in-between his fingers. They laughed hard because his face looked like the insides of a watermelon (pinkish red). The hairstyle didn't help, either.

Fourth is Knuckles. He had his fists shot up in the air. Since he didn't bother to wipe or stop his nosebleed, the blood dripped down to his chin and looked really stupid. Despite the fact that he is not attracted to the brunet in any way, shape, or form doesn't mean he's immune to his charms.

Fifth picture is Lampo's. His mouth was slightly agape and he pressed a tissue on both of his nostrils. He didn't cover it so Reborn got a clear shot.

Sixth is Asari's. He was scratching the back of his head and looked like he was in pain. It's like he had a really bad stomachache or something.

And last but not the least, Alaude. His face was priceless. He looked like he'd seen a ghost! It didn't help that his nose was red because he forcefully supressed his nosebleed. So he looked like a human Rudolf the reindeer. Not only that, his jaw was dropped. Not slightly, not partly, but literally his mouth was wide open. His eyes were all wide too.

"See, told you it was a good chance to get some blackmail." Tsuna smirked proudly.

"I know, I know. Good thing I listened." Reborn said, giving a feral grin of his own.

"Should we sell them? We'll make lots of money with these."

"Maybe we should get more next time." Reborn suggested.

Tsuna nodded. "Well… what should we do now?"

"You got the tape?"

Tsuna brought out a tape from his pocket. "Yep! Let's watch it!"

Reborn grinned. "That would be nice."

Outside the room, the mansion servants were creeped out because evil laughs and guffaws could be heard throughout the whole mansion (courtesy of Tsuna and Reborn watching the dinner video[read chapter 2]).

Somewhere else, 7 sneezes could be heard.

Giotto felt a shiver down his spine. _'I have a feeling that someone has some blackmail about us.'_ Go intuition! But Giotto shrugged it off, thinking he was just being paranoid.

Too bad for him and his guardians.

* * *

><p><strong>Flonne:<strong> Was the omake good? Bad? Just fine? Sucks? Please review! And Byakuran appeared again.

**Reborn: ***looks at the photos again then chuckles darkly*

**Flonne: **Yep, good thing I made Gio-kun leave a while ago. He won't be able to stand the embarrassment.

**Reborn:** Finally did something good for once, eh baka-student of mine? *smirks*

**Flonne:** You're creeping me out… and your smirk doesn't help much.

**Reborn:** *even bigger smirk showing his fangs* This will be useful. *evil laugh*

**Flonne:** S-Since R-Reborn-san i-is s-s-scary, s-s-see y-you guys next time! *runs away*

**Reborn:** Ciao ciao~! *waves Giotto's picture in front of the screen*

**SERIOUSLY, PLEASE REVIEW! I NEED IT! AND SEND MORE IDEAS SO I CAN WRITE, TOO. YOUR OPINIONS COUNT.**


	7. Ch 6: The group of wackos called Varia

**Replies:**

**Kichou:** I'm sure no one (maybe Tsuna) could be THAT nice. So I kinda made Chrome a tinnie tiny bit evil.

**La signora Della grande cielo:** That's why this is AU. If this was the original storyline then all 6 Hells (according to Mukuro) would have froze already.

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: **You guessed right~! It's him!

**13animenurd13: **I updated so please don't make your flame tonfa-wielding tubby cat chase me.

**YuujouKami: **The Vongola better be thankful Tsuna isn't the boss because they might not be able to survive, especially his special training.

**anydayanywhere:** Does this chapter answer your question~? :3

**XxShiroumiArisaxX:** Giotto survived with the power of love~, trying to impress little tuna uke. No, you didn't dig your grave but sadly, Tsuna can be more evil than Reborn when he wants to. Maybe I can force Tsuna into more outfits *evil laugh* About their reactions, I might do an omake of that next chappie.

**Lilspring:** Even if you always run out of ideas, at least you shared one to me. Thank you very much again~!

Thanks to: lovepikachu12, The Neo Productions, patty00, and 13animenurd13.

**Hope you enjoy this!**

* * *

><p>"Hurry up! You promised you'll do stargazing with me." He pulled the older towards the field. It was a black and starry full moon night. The pair sat down on the grass as they watched the heavens above.<p>

"Xanxus-nii, did you see that?" Tsuna pointed towards a bright star. The scar-faced teen looked at where he was pointing at and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, the North star."

The young brunet smiled at him. "What's a North star? It's pretty and sparkly!"

"It's a marker for when you're lost. If you see it in a certain direction, it means that place is headed due north." Tsuna nodded. He cupped his cheeks and sighed happily. "How did you know all this, Xanxus-nii?" The raven-haired teen grinned evilly at him. "Unlike you, I actually_ read_ the books."

He pouted. "Mou, you can't blame me. They're boring. It would be better if it were picture books, though." A sudden sparkle in the sky caught his attention. He gasped.

"Look, look!" He stood up and pointed at a moving light. "It's a shooting star! What do you wanna wish for, Xanxus-nii?" His companion pondered for a while before answering. _'What would I wish for, huh…'_ Seeing the contented expression of his little brother figure as he gazed at the stars, he gave a small, genuine smile. _'I guess… I just want things to stay the same. Peaceful.'_

"I wish for lots of cakes! What did you wish for?" Tsuna inquired. Xanxus smirked. "If I told you, the wish will be forfeited."

"Eh?" The child exclaimed. "I didn't know that!"

He teased, "Then you won't get any cake to eat." Noticing the pout on his face, the raven-haired teen laughed.

* * *

><p><em>So I'm not scared.<em>

_By now, no matter what happens, _

_I won't get disheartened._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: The group of wackos called Varia<strong>

* * *

><p>Reborn hung up the call. He smirked as he imagined the pissed off faces of the ones at the end of the line.<p>

"Was it really necessary to hang up on them? And who were you calling anyway?" Giotto asked.

"Nope. It was just amusing. Who they were is none of your business… for now at least."

"What?"

"Find out yourself." The hitman started to leave. The blond grumbled. "Sadist."

"What did you say?"

Giotto sweatdropped. "N-Nothing!"

"Good." And Reborn gave another smirk. He can't wait for tomorrow!

_'Better be prepared, Dame-Gio.'_

* * *

><p>"I must say, I'm impressed with your progresses. A few days ago, you were very boring and now you're all determined!" Tsuna clasped his hand in delight. <em>'I guess it's time to take the training up a notch.' <em>Everyone else cheered, a little less enthusiastic because of the bruises.

Results of the training so far:

Giotto received the X-Gloves version Vongola ring. How he got it is the same with Tsuna in the anime (Tsuna borrowed Hibari's needle sphere).

G finally got the hang of using a bow and Gokudera decided to teach him about multiple flames, ya-da, ya-da.

Asari is starting to learn how to use 4-swords at once. He mastered infusing his flames with his techniques.

Knuckles developed a new move, Maximum Combination. It's a high speed range of punches using both arms and is almost impossible to dodge.

Daemon learned how to use his eyes (technique where his pupils turn into spades) properly and his illusions strengthened.

Alaude became more agile and he could now keep up with a slightly serious-fighting Hibari (the guy was going easy on him before).

Talbot smiled. "Since you all have finished the basics, we will give you these." He opened Tsuna's bag and took out 7 differently-colored boxes.

"Box weapons?" Asari asked.

"Yup. These are Vongola box weapons, I specially made these for you guys." Tsuna explained. Talbot handed the boxes to their respective owners. They were awed and stared at their boxes.

Reborn coughed to get their attention. "Those aren't ordinary box weapons. The next phase of training will be how to learn controlling what's inside."

"Oh. Can we open it now to the extreme?" Knuckles inquired (he didn't shout).

"Not yet. Not until they get here." Tsuna put on his headphones, just in case. Reborn turned Leon into a pair of earmuffs.

"They? Who're they?" Lampo asked.

"And why are you guys putting on earmuffs?" Giotto pointed to Tsuna passing earmuffs to the other Arcobaleno and Talbot.

"It's because of…" Lambo was cut off by—

**SLAM!**

The door that was just fixed ended up getting destroyed again (they were in the conference room). All heads turn to the entrance and saw a long white-haired man with a sword on his right hand. Behind him was a scar-faced man holding twin guns and another who looked exactly like him, but he looked a lot calmer than the other.

"Squalo!" Asari and Yamamoto chorused.

"VOOOOIIIII!" He waved his sword arm violently. Poor, poor eardrums.

"…that." Lambo ended his sentence lamely. The three said men went inside and everyone heard a series of footsteps. At the door (used to be) standing, was a blond guy with a tiara and his bangs covered his eyes, a flamboyant mohawk man (or gay) with sunglasses, an emotionless teen wearing a frog hat, and a creepy-looking man with piercings all over his face.

"Shut up scum." Scar-face threw a wine glass (where did that come from?) at the loud-mouth.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?! VOI!"

He pointed one of his guns towards the long-hair. "I said shut up scum."

The gay-man (he can't really be called a man) went in-between them. "Mou, come on Boss, Squ-chan. Stop fighting or Tsu-chan's gonna be mad~." He pointed to the cute brunet.

"LUSSURIA, MY NAME IS SQUALO! S-Q-U-A-L-O, NOT SQU-CHAN!" Another wine glass was aimed at his head. "And you," He pointed accusingly at his superior. "Where the hell do you keep getting the wine glasses?!"

"Seems they're being friendly, neh?" Yamamoto said, laughing. He slung an arm on his counterpart's shoulders. "I know what you mean." Asari smiled.

G had a tick mark on his forehead. "How is that being friendly?" He pointed to the all-you-can-join brawl. Knuckles and Ryohei already chatted away with Lussuria. Hibari and Alaude became irritated and synchronized. "I'll bite/punish you to death." Then they attacked everyone (even those who weren't making any noise). Mukuro and Daemon also joined the all-out brawl.

Gokudera mumbled. "Airheads." And he continued to grumble about stupid baseball and flute-obsessed freaks.

Lampo yawned and quickly remarked. "Sharky and Scar-face are acting like an old married couple." Lambo, being his bored self, didn't bother anyone. "I guess so. But they're just trying to impress Mama."

Chrome decided to join in. "Boss is really popular."

Meanwhile, Fran approached Tsuna. "Hi, Hime-sama."

"I told you not to call me that, Frannie."

"And I told you not to give people weird nicknames."

"How is 'Frannie' weird? Hayato's 'Uri' fits that category much better. I mean, who goes around naming their cats 'melon'? Besides, it's a lot better than 'Froggie' right?"

"I guess so. I definitely don't want another fake prince around calling me that." A knife was impaled to his frog hat. The tiara-wearing blonde walked towards them, knives in hand. "What did you call the Prince, un-cute kouhai?"

"Why so affected, Bel-kun? He didn't even mention your name you know." Tsuna gave a sly grin.

"It seems the Princess is still as feisty as ever." Bel slung an arm around the brunet's neck. He received hateful stares from the others in return. Fran still wore his pokerface, but he was frowning inwardly.

The frog thought of something to get the tiara freak away from Tsuna. "Don't tell me your guilty, senpai. People are only angry about these kind of things because it's true." A stab.

"Peasants should shut up and know their place."

"Pheasant? I'm not a bird, senpai." Another stab.

Fran took the knives off of his hat, bent it, and threw it away. "Stop. It hurts, Bel-senpai." Giotto sweatdropped. _'If I didn't know any better, I would say that he has no sense of pain whatsoever.'_

"Like I care." He flashed more of his knives.

"Would you two just shut up." The scar-face's look-alike snarled. He glared at the frog-prince duo.

"Just leave them be, Ricardo-kun." The scar-face approached Tsuna. He completely ignored Squalo's yells in the background.

"Brat." The scar-faced man said.

"Anus." Tsuna greeted.

"What the fuck did you say?" He growled. His scars were also showing.

Tsuna smirked. "Did I say Anus? I meant Xanxus. My bad~." The others snickered. Xanxus itched to shoot the kid's pretty little head off, but the said brunet already used his secret weapon, his moe smile. The others were stunned and momentarily ceased all the things they were doing. Especially Xanxus.

Why him? Well that smile was directed at him, so yeah, critical hit.

"Anyways, why is the fucking Varia here?" G rubbed his face to remove his blush (like that's possible) and pointed a finger at the group of men.

Ricardo scowled. "It's not like we _want_ to be here. The brat called us." He jabbed a thumb at the brunet who was currently ignoring everyone as he chatted away with Bel and Fran.

Giotto groaned. "Did it really have to be them?"

"They're here to help with the training." Reborn finally decided to speak up.

"By the way, this is Ricardo, Xanxus's older twin. He's also the Varia's advisor and the new Varia Cloud guardian**(1)**." Tsuna introduced him, breaking away from his previous conversation.

"This is the training arrangement." Reborn brought out Tsuna's trusty chalkboard. It says:

_**Trainee **–** Sparring partner **–** Supervisor**_

_Wimp – Anus – Uke & Hat_

_Pink – Princess – Puppy _

_Teeth – Sharky – Smiley _

_Idiot – Gaylord – Musclebrain_

_Lazy – Creeper – Milkboy_

_Pedo – Frog – Nappo & Patch_

_Kinky – Killer – Pole_

Everyone complained about their names.

"SCUM!" His scars were glowing again.

"YOU TRASH!" Ricardo really did look like a killer.

Mukuro and Daemon chorused. "I'm not a Nappo/Pedo."

Fran deadpanned. "I totally agree about your name, master. It suits you very well_–_" A trident was stabbed onto his hat. "_–_and teacher (Daemon) also matches with his." And a scythe passed through Fran's frog hat. "Shut up, little one/dear student." They both said.

"I'm not a puppy!" Gokudera took out his dynamites.

"My hair is not pink! It's red!" G brought out his gun (he still brings it with him).

Lampo scowled lazily (if that's possible). "I'm not lazy."

"EXTREME NICKNAMES!" The knucklehead brothers exclaimed. Yamamoto and Asari grinned. Now do you know why they were labeled Smiley and Teeth?

"Kin_– _ky?" Alaude muttered. He doesn't understand why he was labeled as such. Poor, poor skylark. He will never know that fangirls consider his handcuffs kinky (for you-know-what *wink-wink*).

Meanwhile, Hibari's back at the emo corner. _'Tonfas are not poles. Tonfas are not poles. Tonfas are not poles…'_ He kept repeating this in his head. It was one of his rare insecurities, per se.

Tsuna shook his head. That wasn't the reason why he was called 'pole'. _'Poor Kyoya, he'll never know that he's one of the few people that looks like they have a _pole _shoved up their asse—' _His trail of thoughts were interrupted when a tonfa came flying out of nowhere and hit him square on the forehead. _'Ouch… nevermind.' _If anyone asked, yes, both Tsuna and Hibari can read minds… sometimes.

Chrome understood hers. She wore an eyepatch.

Lambo muttered. "To-le-rate…" He recovered, "By the way… who's Hat?" and was ignored.

Squalo fumed. "VOOIII! Who wrote this?!" Reborn pointed to Tsuna.

"What? Reborn asked me what I'll call everyone if I were to insult you. How was I supposed to know he'll write it like that." He frowned. "Besides, I was labeled uke, so we're even!" The others also noticed the uke label and stared at Tsuna. He really does fit the uke category.

After a few good minutes of undressing Tsuna with their eyes, he coughed to get their attention; which was successful in snapping them out of their trances.

Gokudera immediately brightened up. "If Tenth says I'm a puppy then I… I…" They stared at the bomber. "I'LL GLADLY ACCEPT IT WITH ALL MY MIGHT!" They all fell anime-style.

_'That's my gullible yet loyal right-hand man.'_ Then, Tsuna realized something. "They're just nicknames, no one's name was ever written on the board. So why get the idea we were insulting you or something?" _'Please buy the excuse, please buy it…' _ He already blurted out that Reborn asked him for the names.

Giotto brought his hands up in surrender. "No use arguing with you. I give up." Good thing he's an idiot. Unfortunately, Ricardo didn't seem to agree. "Me? Killer?" He had a murderous aura around him and his face clearly says that he'll beat the shit out of everyone. The brunet internally sighed. _'And here he wonders why he was labelled as such.'_

Talbot decided to break the ice. "So… uh, are you guys okay with the partners?"

There were many protests about the arrangement until it turned into another all-out brawl. It went like this.

G complained about Giotto and Xanxus being paired together, insulting Xanxus. Said man threw a string of curses onto said pink-haired guy. Levi defended Xanxus going 'Boss! Boss!'. Lampo whined about being stuck with a pedophile. Of course, Levi wouldn't let that comment slide. Lambo teased Lampo about the 'creep-man' and he gave the kid a big hard whack on the head. The cow-kid threw grenades and hit all the previously mentioned men.

Asari and Yamamoto laughed at how they were all being friendly. Squalo shouted at the two dickheads and demanded a rematch, which the two accepted. Lussuria cooed at him to stop while Knuckles and Ryohei were saying 'how lively' they were and joined in. Bel said they were idiots and Fran commented that he's also one of them. The said tiara freak stabbed Fran and Mukuro stepped in saying he's the only that can stab the frog, ending his speech by stabbing Fran's hat with his trident.

Alaude and Hibari couldn't take it anymore so they tried to bite/punish them to death. Daemon insulted the skylark brothers and they were all thrown in the fray. Ricardo had enough so he tried to stop them, only to be mocked by Xanxus. Gokudera shouted at them for disagreeing with the Tenth's awesome plan and for making the environment 'non-Tenth-friendly'. That's pretty much about it.

"W-Wait a minute! Please stop f-fighting!" Giotto tried to persuade them, only to fail.

Reborn loomed over him. "A mafia boss must be capable of controlling their subordinates." Then he kicked the sorry excuse for a mafia boss towards the mob. The poor young boss whimpered and sent a please-help-me look at Tsuna. The said brunet shrugged and deadpanned. "You're on your own, pal."

Talbot paled. At this rate, the mansion will be toast. "Tsuna, please stop them!" When he turned to the brunet inventor, he was munching on snacks with Reborn.

"Giotto-san can handle them." He was all uncaring about the whole thing. Tsuna was about to reach for another snack (a whole stack of them beside him) until a flame-covered shot set it ablaze. His hands trembled and his bangs covered his eyes, which were glowing orange. Talbot and Reborn gulped, knowing about his food issues. They looked at each other and made a run for it. Chrome disappeared sometime ago.

Tsuna went in front of all of them. "Everyone~, didn't I warn everyone to never involve my snacks?" He sent them a cold innocent smile that sent shivers down their spines. The brunet now has his gloves on and it glowed brightly.

"Naughty boys need to be punished." He cracked his knuckles. Nobody gets in-between him and his food! _'They're gonna pay.'_

During the night, many screams were heard all throughout the mansion.

* * *

><p>Somewhere in the Vongola mansion, a bright flickering light could be seen. The light came from a certain someone's room.<p>

"It… It's finally fixed!" Tsuna cheered as he looked at a golden pocketwatch with the Trinisette logo (3 circles w/ 7 slots each).

The pocketwatch glowed as Tsuna activated it. Smiles, frowns, tears, and pain flashed through the inventor's memory. Tsuna felt guilt and longingness as the memories he locked in the back of his mind came back to him.

_He was all beat up. People shunned him and tried to kill him, because he is of Vongola blood. Not even his parents could do anything about it. He was saved by a boy his age. The boy held out a hand to him. _

_"Are you okay? By the way, my name is…" Young Tsuna wiped his tears. _

_"A-Arigato, nii-chan. M-My name is T-Tsunayoshi S-Sawada. Y-You can call me T-T-Tsuna."_

_The boy smiled at him. "Oh! Let's be friends, 'kay?" The young brunet brightened up._

_"Okay!" And that was the start of their friendship._

Then a horrific incident replaced the fond memory. The brunet slightly cringed as the said memory played in his mind.

_The boy in the previous memory was now covered in black miasma and his eyes were glinting eerily. The boy was holding the same pocketwatch that Tsuna was holding._

_"N-Nii-chan, you—"_

_"Get away."_

_"Nii-chan, are you—"_

_"Get away."_

_"Nii-chan, please—"_

_"I SAID GET AWAY FROM ME!" The boy pushed Tsuna away. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!" He yelled as he strangled Tsuna._

_"W-Why…?" Tsuna croaked out. His voice was hoarse because of the grip._

_The boy gave a creepy smirk. His eyes were glowing green. "The reason? Well, it's just that—"___and the flashback was cut off. After that, only vague images followed because Tsuna made sure the memories were locked up. He used the pocketwatch to remove the seal so it'll take a while to recover all of it.

His smile became sad. "It's all my fault. All of it would never happen if I never created this in the first place." He looked at the sky. "I guess it's too late."

The brunet shook his head. "No! I'm already this far. I got to have faith. It's a promise."

He clenched his pacifier as his body shook and muffled sobs came out from his mouth.

"I'm so sorry."

He fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Giotto was sleeping; trapped in a far-off dream.<p>

Another vision greeted him.

"Tell me, what is it that you're looking for?" He felt his throat become hoarse. Why was this happening to him. The blond was facing the back of another person. What caught him off-guard was the pair of appendages on the person's back— a pair of pure, untainted, white angel wings. The man refused to turn around. Giotto once again, called out to him. It was at that moment that he noticed his condition. His left leg was twisted in an awkward angle, and two bullet wounds were found on his abdomen. He felt light-headed, but shrugged off the pain.

The other man had blood in his clothes, and was actually down on one knee. He had a huge slash injury on his side.

"Do you see them, Giotto? This was the price I had to pay for my sins."

"Sins?"

A remorseful chuckle was his reply. "My sins for these abominable wings. I'm a monster, aren't I?"

He found himself answering automatically. "You're not a monster, and never will be. You know that the Millefiore boss should take the blame, not you." He coughed up blood. "Is this… the end of us? Our friendship, our life?" Were they dying?

_Probably._

_Maybe not._

Right now, Giotto wasn't in his best state of mind; and couldn't conjure a proper answer to himself. All he knew was that both of them were losing blood, fast.

"I… don't… think so," A third voice answered.

The blond-haired mafia boss looked towards the source of the voice, and saw Tsunayoshi, panting real hard. He had a nasty head wound and blood was running off the side of his lips. The brunet's arms were badly burnt, and a sword was impaled in the middle of his chest. Giotto knew the poor Arcobaleno was at his last breath. The brown-haired boy's eyes were oddly blank, and slowly closing.

"I'm sorry for all of this, Tsu-chan. I hurt my most precious people." The man—now that the blond took a closer look—boy, reached out for the dying teen's hand. Once they were linked, his bloody fist tightened on the slack palm. However, Tsuna didn't seem to hear his words. It seemed that he was in his own little world.

"I… won't fail again, so please…!" _'Move, stupid body! Just this one time…!'_ Giotto seemed to have heard his thoughts, but decided to ignore it.

The brunet had a pocketwatch in his other hand and raised it in the air. He lit his flames with all of his willpower. Giotto's eyes was filled with horror. _'No, don't tell me—'_

"Tsu-chan, what are you doing?!"

"Tsunayoshi, stop it! You're already dying, so please… don't make yourself suffer anymore!"

His words rang in the Arcobaleno's ears. In that split second, the brunet's eyes regained a bit of light in them; and the teen stared at the pair as if he was seeing them for the first time. Sadness, pain, and relief was evident in his clear, amber brown orbs. As the pocketwatch was engulfed in Sky flames, Tsuna gave one last smile to the both of them. He pressed the button on top of the device.

"This time… it'll be different. That, I promise," Tsuna said, and a flash of light engulfed their visions.

Giotto heared a distant sound: the ticking of a clock relentlessly echoing in his ears. He covered his ears in a vain effort to shut the sounds down, closing his eyes as he concentrated in blocking them out. After a while, the ticking ceased. The blond opened his eyes, only to see an hourglass in the middle of pitch black nothingness. Inside was glowing white sand, with most at the bottom; very little left at the upper part.

_"Repent and repeat." _A voice called out.

The hourglass turned itself upside-down.

Giotto mimicked the voice. "Repent and repeat."

As the words escaped his mouth, the blond realized that he was sitting up on his bed; wide awake. He placed a hand on his forehead and groaned. _'What was that all about? I need to ask Tsunayoshi first thing in the morning. He might know whatever's going on in these dreams!'_

Talbot exclaimed. "We have an announcement to make."

Chrome said. "The Varia just arrived yesterday so you're all off the hook." The 10th gen cheered.

"Since today is a rest day, we're going to the festival!" Tsuna clasped his hands in delight. Reborn whispered to him, "You're doing this because you're depressed, aren't you? You're trying to forget something, isn't that right?"

The brunet stiffened. How the hell did he know that? Tsuna ignored him and the hitman scoffed. "Whatever." _'I could never hide anything from you, huh, Reborn.'_

"Eh? Are you sure?" Giotto asked. Tsuna is so random. One minute, he'll kill you with training then later he'll be nice and stuff. He is very, very bipolar. _'It makes me wonder what's going on inside his head.'_

Tsuna smiled. "Pretty much. Do you want me to change my mind and go on with your traini—"

"No! Not at all!" He quickly cut of the brunet. He does not want to die yet. _'Maybe I should ask Tsunayoshi later. He looks like he needs a break.' _True to his thoughts, the brunet's hair was more unruly than usual and his eyes were slightly red. There was also a black shadow under his eyes.

"Everyone, draw a stick. Whoever gets the stick with same-colored tips will be partners." Talbot said.

Reborn hand out the box. "1… 2… 3!" They all revealed the color of their sticks' tips and gasped.

Who ended up with who?

* * *

><p><strong>(1) <strong>Ricardo is originally Vongola Secondo (if someone doesn't know). He can still use Sky flames and Flames of Wrath. In my story, he can also use Cloud Flames so he's the new Cloud guardian. The old one is Gola Mosca and he was destroyed by Giotto (supposed to be Tsuna) in the Varia arc.

* * *

><p><strong>The boy in Tsuna's memory is not an OC.<strong>

**So this time, the memory preview this chapter belongs to Giotto. Once all the memories are compiled, I suppose I'll write a short multi-chapter as a prequel.**

**Ciao ciao~! -Flonne.**


	8. Ch 7: Festival Fun! part 1

**Replies:**

**DiveToWorld:** The box weapons won't be revealed until later, so stay tuned! And I'm taking the name 'Fist'.

**anydayanywhere: **I _might_ take the panda.

**sakura190:** Really? I haven't read fanfictions for the past few days, so sorry if I copied the joke or something. My friend, **giotsuhibaG2718** was the one who suggested it. She was messing with KHR names like if you write Tsuna backwards, it becomes Anustor Daemon Spade turns into Demon Pedo.

**XxShiroumiArisaxX:** Did I really give you a heart attack? :3 Haha. Thanks a lot for sharing your ideas for the box weapons! I'll think about it.

**YuujouKami:** _FREE SPOILER_** -** For _some_ chapters in the future, Tsuna will have random flashbacks (he's still recovering his sealed memories) so you won't find out who the person is for now. And if you ask, the boy in Tsuna's memory is kinda blurred to him, so he doesn't know yet.

**Lilspring:** O.O I was thinking of the same animal for Alaude! Are you a mind reader? *stares*

**13animenurd13:** They were already warned about the food in Chapter 3 (Yama and Dera). But I agree, that was funny. *rolls on the floor*

**bluegirldreamin: **Authors like me really screw up the lives of characters when we write an AU fic. Same here, I like all the characters in KHR, but maybe an itty bitty hate for Kyoko and Haru.

**FaerieDemon: **How did you know? *gasps* Actually, the answer is a mix of all 3. Erm, what the pocketwatch can do will be a secret until later. Go Tsuna's moe-ness/evilness and Varia! And yeah, Tsuna and the others use their cannon boxes (Vongola gear but no Vongola ring included). I'll think about the flamingo.

**TakeshiYamamoto2980:** They're too hard-headed that's why they'll never learn their lesson. Kinky and Pole rocks! *gets hit by a flying tonfa and handcuffs* About the outfit, just read~!

**patty00: **A few more chapters, maybe?

**Neko-Chan1827: **I kinda felt evil when I was writing that part so the Hibari bros got stuck with one of the most insulting names. The other names I thought of were 'cow' for Lambo or 'melon' for Daemon but didn't include them 'cause it's too common. For Muku-chan, if ya changed it to english, it becomes 'Piney'.

**Usagi-Tama:** If I turned them into infants, that wouldn't be too fun. Besides, I don't want to turn Giotto into a pedo (if Tsuna was a baby).

**Fai Senri:** Yes? No? Maybe? I'm still thinking about it. Still not sure yet~!

**Vongola-Nicole:** I'm really glad you love this story… even when I wrote it while having writer's block. This chappie's gonna be really random.

Also thanks to Kichou, chibinaru-sama, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, pokermaniac039, and Cuore l'anima della.

* * *

><p>"Giotto!" Tsuna shouted. His older companion did the same. "Giotto-kun!" They both heard a gunshot in the next room. The pair rushed to the source of the sound, only to see their blond-haired friend barely dodge numerous bullets. The two shared a glance before barging in, covering for Giotto.<p>

He was surprised. "You guys… I told you not to follow!"

"Oh, shut up."

"Fight now, talk later."

After a long hard battle, all three were able to knock their opponents out.

The blond wiped the sweat on his face before turning to his friends. "And after I warned you about how dangerous this is, you still came."

"Now, now. Don't be such a stubborn guy." Tsuna had a disapproving look on his face. Giotto scratched the back of his head as he glanced at the ground. "I…" He clenched his fists. "I just didn't want you guys to get involved."

"You don't want us to help. That's really selfish of you." The brunet punched him. "Do you have any idea how much you made us worry?!" The third person nodded in agreement.

"That's right, Giotto-kun. We know you were worried but you didn't bother to think of our feelings about this." He gestured to the numerous unconscious bodies around them. "Honestly, if Tsu-chan and I didn't arrive, what would've happened here?" The older placed his hands on the blond's shoulders. "There's a chance you would've dropped dead by now." Seeing the horrified look on his face, the third person sighed. "Didn't think of that possibility, huh."

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Tsuna exclaimed.

"I'm really sorry." Giotto murmured as his head hung even lower. The brunet simply rubbed his temple. "Just tell us if you have any other problems, next time. You can trust us."

"Tsu-chan's right. We're friends, aren't we?"

The blond snapped his head up and smiled widely at them. "You're right."

* * *

><p><em>When I looked back, <em>

_I had friends._

_When I noticed it, _

_I was gently embraced._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: Festival Fun! part 1<strong>

* * *

><p>G asked, "Uh, before we show the sticks, I don't think there's a special occassion today. How come there's a festival?"<p>

Chrome smiled and waved a card that suspiciously looks like an invitation. "Two certain ally Families decided to hold a mafia fest, Vongola-style." She opened the card and read it. "We, from *censored* and *censored* Families, host this festival in commemoration of Vongola Decimo's homecoming to Italy." And she slipped the card into her pocket.

"Why did she say 'censored' when she was reading the Family names? And who are they anyway?" Asari inquired.

Reborn frowned. "Even I don't know which Family it is."

Chrome had a strange gleam in her eye. "Boss said that if he told you guys, Reborn-san will personally kill them for interrupting the training sessions." They all nodded. Reborn + no training = boredom and boredom = rampage. _'The great joy of boredom.'_ The blond bitterly thought to himself. _'Why am I surrounded by homicidal people?!'_

Giotto whispered to the brunet. "Why did you decide to go?"

Tsuna smirked. "That's because we were supposed to have training today, but I didn't feel like it." The young boss sweatdropped. What a lazy boy he is. _'He's no better at all.'_ He received a whack on the head in return. "What was that for?!"

The other crossed his arms. "I don't wanna hear that from someone who's just as lazy as I am." He decided to continue. "Coincidentally, I received the invitation card. Just made up an excuse to skip training." The blond sighed. _'I guess there are things that never change.'_

The brunet scoffed and murmured. "Like you're one to talk."

Talbot said, "Anyways, raise your sticks and find the person with the same color."

_Here are the pairs/sticks:_

_**Partners — color of sticks**_

_Giotto & Tsuna (G27) — orange_

_Yamamoto & Gokudera (8059) — red_

_Asari & G (Asari02) — blue_

_Mukuro & Hibari (6918) — purple_

_Daemon & Alaude (DaeA) — indigo_

_Knuckles & Ryohei (loudmouths) — yellow_

_Reborn & Lampo (random) — green_

_Lambo & Chrome (random) — pink_

_Xanxus & Squalo (XS) — black_

_Bel & Fran (B26) — gray_

_Lussuria & Levi (64Lev crack) — brown_

_Ricardo & Talbot (Loners) — white_

_'So I have the same stick as…' _Giotto looked around and saw Tsuna had the same color as him. _'I… I'm paired with…!'_ Then his thoughts drifted away to what could possibly happen in the festival. Tsuna was smiling brightly at him and they were having fun together. It was like a date. He blushed at the sight of Tsuna in his dreamland. _'I'm not gay… I just lost my crush on Kyoko-chan_**(1)**_ that's why I'm like this. Yeah, let's go with that.' _He shook his head, but then felt incredibly smug. He smirked inwardly (for unknown reasons to him) at his situation.

Reborn, who was glancing at him on the sidelines, smirked inwardly. _'Still in denial, huh.'_

In Tsuna's view, he saw Giotto has the same color as him and felt tingling sensations. _'Why am I feeling so eager and excited?' _He decided to shrug it off and glared (pouted) at the floor like it did something wrong.

Gokudera growled. He wasn't paired with his beloved Tenth and instead, stuck with the baseball-freak. But that's the stick he drew, no takebacks. "Dammit, I can't believe I'm paired with an idiot…" He grumbled.

Hibari looked away. That wimp had the guts to take away _his_ Tsunayoshi. Not only that, he's stuck with the pineapple herbivore for the day. He voiced out his protest (not verbally) by sending a flying tonfa towards Giotto and Mukuro then stole a kiss on the cheek from Tsuna. If looks could kill (I know this is overused), he would be ten feet under now. But since he is _the_ Hibari Kyoya, he's unaffected either way.

The said brunet blushed again. _'Why do they keep stealing kisses from me?' _If there was one thing Tsuna will be dense about, it's the advances people do to him. And yet, he knows how to use his looks to wrap them all around his fingers. Ironic, much?

Now that Alaude can't be with his prey, he decided that he wants to drag the brunet, cuff him to his bed, and claim him as his so no one would dare take him away. Just when he was about to do something, the knucklehead brothers stopped him.

Before Knuckles held back the skylark, all his energy was drained but he felt happy he's paired with his brother. Ryohei didn't feel so extreme anymore and saw that his brother tried to keep his spirits up. But he was just as glad as Knuckles that they got paired together. I guess not paired with Tsuna mysteriously made them feel less EXTREME than usual. But it's not like they have romantic interests in him. Their overprotective sides were surfacing, though.

Mukuro let pineapples rain down the room. He's so depressed that he uses the first thing that comes to his mind (even if he hates it) as a weapon of sorts. For Daemon's case, he used watermelons. Lastly, Fran sent out a frog epidemic. The wonders of depression, huh? The unfortunate victims were too deep into their thoughts that they didn't bother fighting or shouting back.

G is now torn with joy and something else. He's happy for his boss that he's paired with someone really reliable. At the same time, he feels something akin to jealousy. Jealous of his boss that gets a chance of spending time with the cute… irresistable… delicious-looking… uke. He fought the urge to facepalm. Why, oh why did he thought of that?

Yamamoto's smile dropped slightly and became a little forced. And here he thought, he could spend some time with his adorable best friend. Asari on the other hand, faked a grin and inside, he felt something burning. Especially, when he saw that Giotto and Tsuna ended up together.

Lampo frowned (lazily again). He's coming to the best festival ever with the murderous Reborn. _The_ Reborn. Great… not. Why was he cursed like this? Meanwhile, Reborn kept his pokerface on while stomping and doing a tantrum inwardly. Chibi-Reborn (his inner self) was wailing that he can't spend time with his delectable ex-student.

The Varia twins felt an urge to blow everyone up, mostly Giotto. Xanxus' scars were showing again and Ricardo's eyes flashed red. The Varia boss reached into his pocket and brought out his X-guns. Ricardo, even though fuming with anger and disappointment, managed to keep his cool and restricted his twin.

Lambo just rolled his eyes at the others' antics. They could've been a bit more… secretive about it. They're practically creeping him out with their homosexuality and uncanny attraction towards his Mama. _'Why are men Tsu-nii's_**(2)** _age are all attracted to other men their age?'_ He swore he won't ever end up gay. Unfortunately, he has no idea that he is actually bisexual.

Chrome giggled. Her yaoi senses were tingling~. Now to fetch her camera and get ready for the fluff moments…

Talbot shivered when he saw Chrome giggling evilly. He knows the girl is up to no good. Lambo better keep an eye on her.

Belphegor was both laughing and groaning. Laughing, because Levi the creepy mustache man and Luss the traumatizing gaylord were together. In an amusement park. Alone. But groaning because his princess was paired with a wimp and the un-cute kouhai was gonna be with him.

Squalo broke the depressing silence with a simple… "VOOOIIII!" And he lashed out his sword on everyone and everything. At least he managed to make them forget about their sulking.

"Anyways, we have a chaperone. Who should be arriving here right…" The door was slammed open and revealed a big-boobies lady with black hair. She wore what seems to be a uniform and an armband. She also looked stoic and serious. "…now. Hi, Adel." Tsuna waved at the girl (or young woman, she looks very mature). The girl, now called Adel, nodded in acknowledgement. She stood beside Chrome, who greeted her meekly.

"Adelheid?! What is a Shimon guardian doing here?" Gokudera demanded.

Adelheid Suzuki, the strongest of the Shimon (besides her boss), stood before them and explained. "I am the chaperone that Cozart and Cavallone-san sent here. They are waiting for us in Mafia Land."

"M-Mafia Land? That far?" Giotto said.

Reborn grumbled. "So it's the loser and my other stupid student, huh? Shimon and Cavallone better get two coffins ready." Now, Adelheid feared for Cozart and Dino's life. They all left grumbling.

Somewhere else, two sneezes could be heard.

"Cavallone-san, what do you think that was?" A red-haired teen asked.

A blond Italian sniffed and rubbed his nose. "I don't know. Just wish that it isn't Reborn talking about us."

"Why would you say it's him?"

"Because if we disturbed something like his coffee break or some sort of training, we're dead. The festival schedule might've disrupted their sessions…" He shivered. Cozart blinked. _'He actually thought of that?'_

"I'm sure it's nothing of sorts." Oh how wrong he was. Poor them, they'll never know that Reborn was planning on punishing them.

* * *

><p>After they got out of the plane, Giotto was very thankful that they finally arrived. If they stayed there any longer… he shivered at the possibilities.<p>

When they got checked in the hotel, everyone else (Chrome, Tsuna, Talbot, Lambo, and Giotto) breathed a sigh of relief. Looks like they were still behaving.

Unfortunately, the others caused yet another trouble. They weren't happy about the room arrangements. Those paired together would be stuck in the same room (they never checked out their rooms yet). But one glare from the brunet inventor and they all shut their mouths. They'll just have to wait for Dino and Cozart.

While waiting, let's just say the sight wasn't pretty… well, who could call it pretty when the whole lobby was on fire and everything was decimated. Not exaggerating.

When Tsuna turned his head to the side, he saw a familiar blond and red-head. "Dino! Cozart! Over here!" He flailed both of his arms in the air. Dino chuckled at the brunet's antics.

Reborn immediately took out his Leon gun and fired several shots at the two. They seem fine afterwards. The hitman took Dino by the collar and slammed him by the wall.

"W-W-Wait a minute! What's the big idea, Reborn?!" Dino managed to choke out. The guy's really scary now! You can see the dark aura coming out from him. The aura managed to scare away the receptionists. _'Definitely the demon incarnate himself!'_ He thought, anime tears falling.

Tsuna placed a hand on Reborn's shoulder. "Leave him be, Reborn. He just wants us to have a break." Dino stared at him like he was a saint. _'Thank you so much, Tsuna!' _The Arcobaleno smirked. "You can kill him after the festival." The hitman grumbled and walked away. The older blond boss gaped at the brunet inventor. _'I should've known better.'_

"Follow us please." Cozart requested politely.

* * *

><p>"What's with these?" Giotto pointed to the stack of clothes in the room.<p>

Dino clasped his hands. "Well, we thought it would be more comfortable for you guys if you wore yukatas or something, being Japanese and all."

Everyone went to grab a yukata and went into the changing stalls. The color of the yukatas matched their flames (ex: Storm = Red). Talbot was the only one who wore white. Dino wore dark green, and Cozart wore brown. By red for G, I meant pinkish-red like his hair.

The patterns on the yukata were:

**Giotto** = fish, **Reborn** = target/bullseye, **G **= storm symbol, **Asari** = rain drop, **Knuckles **= sun, **Lampo** = lightning bolt, **Daemon** = melons, **Alaude** = clouds,** Gokudera **= skulls, **Yamamoto **= baseball, **Ryohei** = stripes, **Lambo** = candy(?), **Mukuro** = pineapples, **Hibari** = birds, **Chrome** = flowers, **Xanxus** = guns, **Squalo **=swords,** Lussuria **= hearts (blegh…), **Bel** = knives, **Fran** = frogs, **Levi** = mustache, **Dino** = horses, **Cozart** = leaves, & **Talbot** = camouflage (cool)

After they all finished, Yamamoto looked around. "Hey… where's Tsuna?"

Now that they think about it, the brunet disappeared. They saw that one of the changing stalls was occupied. "Dame-Tsuna, get your sorry ass out here." Reborn sternly said.

"Just a minute!" A muffled reply he got. A few more moments and Tsuna was done, but he wasn't wearing the yukata.

"It's too big for me." Tsuna handed back the orange yukata with tuna patterns on it which Giotto chose for him (they were supposed to match outfits).

Cozart suggested. "Maybe you should wear a girl's yukata." He showed him a pink one with sakura petal prints. Tsuna's face turned into an interesting shade of red and green, appalled by the suggestion. "What?! NO!"

"Just wear it Dame-Tsuna. I'm itching to get out of here." Leon was already perched on his hand. The brunet grumbled and scurried off.

When he came out, let's just say his image was heavenly. His hair was down again. Of course, they had massive nosebleeds that reached the heavens (it was like having a human blood fountain). _'God dammit, he's so cute!'_ They all thought.

Don't ask how they cleaned up their mess.

* * *

><p>Tsuna was currently pissed off. Why? Because Cozart tricked them even him, especially him, to wear the accursed wristwatch. No, it wasn't an ordinary wristwatch. It actually sealed their flames and if they leave their partner for more than a 10m distance, they'll be electrocuted. Maybe, he influenced the red-head too much<strong>(3)<strong>.

Reborn can never completely remove Tsuna's clumsiness because the moment he was so into his thoughts, he tripped on _nothing_. Oh boy. His yukata was really, really short so when it flipped, Giotto got a glimpse of the brunet's skin near his bottom.

Tsuna stood up with a huge blush on his face. _'That. Was. Embarrassing.'_ The inventor noticed the stupefied yet drooling expression on the blond-haired teen's face. He shook his head and smacked the said teen on the head.

"Ow! What was that for?!" He exclaimed, rubbing his head.

The brunet looked smug. "Better remove that perverted look on your face, Giotto-san. It's very unbecoming of a mafia boss."

Now it was Giotto's time to blush. _'I'm not gay. I'm not gay. I'm not gay… but he looks so adora—'_ He inwardly facepalmed. _'Damn hormones.' _He sighed. "Let's just get this over with."

"Fine. Where do you wanna go first? Might as well enjoy the trip." The brunet inventor crossed his arms. An unholy smirk made its way to his companion's face. Giotto had a good idea. _'Payback time.'_

"Let's ride that one then." The blond pointed to a certain ride with loops and really, really high.

"You want to ride the roller coaster?" He looked disbelievingly at his charge. Seriously?

"Reborn's gonna shoot me if I don't try riding it at least once." Tsuna's face paled, not that Giotto noticed. The young boss took the hand of the pale Arcobaleno and dragged him towards the line. The inventor mustered up his courage and his guts (mostly his guts) and prepared himself for his own nightmare.

**-One ride later-**

Tsuna was currently puking his guts out and felt nauseous. Did he mention that he gets motion sickness easily? And did he say he was afraid of heights? No? I guess it's too late for that.

"Why didn't you tell me you're prone to dizziness or something?" The brunet grumbled and continued to vomit._ 'That's because my pride won't let me back down…' _He glared at the young boss. Which didn't look like a glare, to be honest.

"Please don't pout at me."

"It's a glare, a glare dammit!" He finally finished puking.

Tsuna frowned. "Where do we go next? And I'm not riding _that _again."

Giotto was about to reply when a familiar voice was heard through the intercom, **"Attention, attention everyone. This is Reborn speaking." **They perked up. When it's Reborn, nothing good ever happens. From the other side of Mafia land, the others listened intently.

**"Since this festival is boring, we'll have a game event to make everything interesting." **Cozart said from the sidelines.

**"Dame-Dino, read this."** Reborn pointed his Leon gun at the bronco's forehead. **"Y-Yes…"**

**"Er… we'll be playing 'Battle Royale, Vongola-style'."** He scratched the back of his head.

Tsuna sensed Reborn's smirk beyond the intercom.** "The rules are simple. Kill or be killed."**

Dino laughed nervously. **"H-Hahaha… he means knock them out before they knock you out. The partners are still the same. Also, may the last team standing wins."**

Cozart's eyes had a mischievous gleam to them. **"The best part is that the winners get a date with Tsuna-san!" **There were choruses of cheers.

"WHAT?! NOBODY TOLD ME ABOUT THAT!" The brunet exploded (it would be fun if I meant literally, sadly… no).

**"Shut up, Dame-Tsuna."** _'How did he hear that? Wait… this is Reborn we're talking about.' _Giotto thought. **"When your team wins, only Dame-Gio will date you. Better than being stuck with a pineapple pervert—"** "Hey!" **"—and a melon pedophile."** "Why you!" Shouts could be heard… somewhere.

"Still not convinced."

**"I'll give you a box of the limited edition Everest chocolates**(4)**."**

"Deal." Giotto gaped at him. Did he just agree because of the sweets? _'He's unbelievable.'_

Tsuna looked at him like he was stupid. "Of course, I'll agree. Those chocolates are very, very rare. Only a hundred ever made each day. And they always run out because they're very popular." Typical, typical Tsuna. The young boss facepalmed at the brunet's logic. No surprises there. After all, he does get angry when someone or something gets between him and his food.

**"Yare, yare this is gonna be troublesome." **Was that Lampo?

**"Zip it if you want to live, stupid lord."**

**"If someone asks, the four of us here… Reborn, Lampo, me, and Dino are included in the game too." **Cozart added sheepishly.

**"The wristwatch's flame seal is deactivated, so feel free to go all out."** Reborn said. This is gonna be destructive. He can't wait for the pile of dead corp— I mean, bodies of unconcious people around the place. Giotto had a feeling that everyone will experience _hell_ to a whole new level.

**"Good luck, everyone!" **Dino shouted before the communication was cut off.

Tsuna's killing intent was slowly leaking out. Guess karma did work. He slacked off = he gets forced into a date. But at least he gets his precious sweet treats.

Giotto sweatdropped. What now?

"So are you just gonna stand there or what?"

Giotto flailed his arms. "We—" A glare (real one) from Tsuna. "—I can't do this! I'm gonna die!"

"That's just the circle of life, right? You die in my place and I'll live longer for your sake." The inventor happily supplied. The blond had a tick mark on his forehead.

"Don't make it sound like I'm dead or something! Besides, they're really, really strong!"

"I don't care. You got the whole day to take 'em down understand? If you don't win this game, well—" He brought out his trusty machine gun. "YOU'LL BE BEGGING ME TO SHOOT YOU, CAPICHE?!"

"G-Got it." He replied weakly. How is he gonna get out of this mess? This is gonna be harder than he thought now that even Tsuna's on his tail. His own teammate. Oh goodie, he's on his own against a whole pack of the most dangerous and powerful people in the mafia.

* * *

><p><strong>(1) <strong>Since Tsuna has a crush on Kyoko in the anime/manga, I decided to apply it to Giotto 'cause he replaced Tsuna and all. Yep, but he's liking cute little tuna uke more and more each passing day~.

**(2)** Lambo only calls Tsuna 'Tsu-nii' when he's really confused, angry, or annoyed.

**(3) **Tsuna was Cozart's ex-tutor. He began teaching him shortly after the Shimon Arc (in this story, Shimon Arc goes before Future Arc...so yeah).

**(4)** I made this up. If it was real then 'yay' for me!

* * *

><p><strong>Anyways, thanks for all the support! I didn't change anything in this chapter.<strong>

**I already have the box weapons decided so the voting time is closed.**

**Reborn: **Now, it's time for more of Giotto's torture.

**Giotto:** NOOOO! *wails miserably* (Who wouldn't cry when it's _Reborn_ who predicted your demise?)

**Tsuna:** *pats Gio's head* I feel your pain… He hasn't killed me yet so don't feel too bad.

**Giotto:** Yet! He hasn't killed you _yet_!

**Reborn: **Just shut up and Ciao ciao~!

**Flonne:** Ja ne~!


	9. Ch 8: Festival Fun! part 2

**Replies:**

**DiveToWorld: **It's a nice name. Try to guess who's animal I gave it to (too obvious). And did you notice that you're the first one to review again? Congrats! *two thumbs up & virtual cookies for you~*

**FaerieDemon:** I think you already know who's gonna win. *cough*mainpairing*cough* :3 Enma will come soon. He's play a very important role in the story~.

**TakeshiYamamoto2980:** Never underestimate a Hibari! That includes Alaude ;). I agree, Kyoko wasted Tsu-chan's pure white heart *frowns at the girl*. And thanks for the box weapon scenario thing, I think I have an idea on what to write now. About the phoenix, it's a definite yes, yes. Will be taking it~!

**Fai Senri:** Who would let go of a chance to get some rare delicious treat? I bet even the others would want the chocolates too. XD

**anydayanywhere:** If everyone won? Hmhmhmhm… I'll think of something~…

**Neko-Chan1827:** Haha, he only joined because of the sweets & I'm sure Gio would do anything to survive.

Thanks to: Princess Arcs di Cielo, YuujouKami, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, and Cuore l'anima della.

* * *

><p>"Come on!" Tsuna exclaimed as he pulled his two friends along towards the top of the hill, where the Namimori Shrine is conveniently located. Giotto rubbed the back of his head. "Why do you want us to come here?" The third person nodded in agreement.<p>

"For your information, Fuuta said that this is the best spot for viewing New Year's fireworks." He stopped pulling them once they arrived at the shrine. The blond blinked in wonder. "Fireworks? I didn't know that."

"Really, Giotto-kun? But you're a local here." Their other friend commented. Tsuna tapped his chin in thought. "He must be a hikikomori, nii-chan."

"That would explain things. Because he's not of working age, we can't call him a NEET yet." Giotto was at a loss of words. What the hell were his friends talking about? _'And what in the name of Vongola is a hikikomori and a NEET?'_

"It's starting!" The brunet said happily, pointing a finger towards the sky. His two companions looked and saw beautiful lights. "Pretty…" The youngest of them commented.

As the trio watched the fireworks, Giotto grinned to himself. _'I hope things would stay the same.' _He turned to stare at his best friends when his brown-haired companion caught his attention. Tsuna's brown eyes seemed amber underneath the lights. It also brightened his already brilliant smile. The blond found himself enamoured by his friend's beauty.

For him, the world stopped still and the only thing in his mind was the angelic scene in front of him. Never in his whole life has he seen anything as mesmerizing as what he just saw. He completely forgot about his other friend and the fireworks. He felt his face feel hot, his breath caught, and butterflies in his stomach.

Since that day, his heart would race in the brunet's presence.

And so it was the moment that Giotto Taru fell in love with Tsunayoshi Sawada.

* * *

><p><em>In the world where just about everything is twisted,<em>

_Having the single place here, _

_I can believe in saved me._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: Festival Fun! part 2<strong>

* * *

><p>Boy was he wrong.<p>

Things were not as he expected. And here he thought they would take Hell to a whole new level.

No, this… this was much, much worse.

The rides were on fire, stalls were destroyed. People: all half-dead except for the participants. Even the ferris wheel got dettached and was rolling down the hill. How did it even got on top of the hill when its original place was on the hill's base?

All these destruction happened in a span of a few minutes and Tsuna said he had the whole day to win the game.

So does that mean it'll get worse later on?

Oh Kami-sama. Please, please help him survive.

It didn't help that he was giving Tsuna a piggy-back ride, meaning he won't be able to run away immediately. Also… _'Is that whip on his hand?' _The blond thought incredulously.

"Yah, Giotto, yah!" He lashed out the whip on Giotto but it didn't hit him. Seems like Tsuna's childish personality mixed in with his sadism. Yep, definitely bipolar. _'And what happened to the '-san' suffix on my name?'_

Anyways, they stumbled upon Lambo and Chrome first.

"Hi, Boss." She smiled meekly at them.

"Mama! Stupidera's pink-haired look-alike was really scary!"

Tsuna turned to his half-Mist guardian. Giotto was about to say something when Chrome cut him off. "Ah, we ran into G-san and Ugetsu-san a while ago. We barely escaped but luckily they got fooled by my illusions."

"I see… but why aren't you two participating?" Giotto asked.

"I… I don't like Boss that way." She fidgeted. Lambo huffed. "Why would I be in love with my mama?"

"Makes sense. Why don't you guys quit or something?"

"We were about to." Then Chrome pressed something on her wristwatch and a beeping sound rang throughout the amusement park.

**"Chrome and Lambo dropped out~." **A pause, then a huge explosion occured. **"Lussuria and Levi are out of the game as well."**

"That was fast." Giotto commented. When he looked at Lambo & Chrome's spot, they were gone. _'Must be an illusion.'_ He thought. The brunet looked at something from afar.

Tsuna grabbed his hand and made a run for it, oblivious to the blush of the blond. From their spot was a cute but deadly purple hedgehog who suddenly grew. Two figures walked out of the shadows. It was Mukuro and Hibari. The raven-haired gritted his teeth. "Tch. Missed."

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Gokudera and Yamamoto vs. Ricardo and Talbot~<strong>_

Ricardo's hand glowed and he fired several Sky flame projectiles from his bare hand while Gokudera tossed Storm-covered dynamites back at him. Talbot ducked and covered for his life.

Yamamoto came out of nowhere, "Shigure Soen Ryu, 5th offensive form: Samidare (Early Summer Rain)." He slashed diagonally but in midway he drops the sword, switching hands, before finishing the attack. Talbot barely dodged and as a result, his cape was torn in half. The inventor paled.

"Y-Y-Y-Yamamoto-san! I can't fight!" Takeshi smiled at him, but his grin didn't reach his eyes. He pointed his sword at Talbot's neck, who sweated profusely.

"Sorry, Talbot-san. A game's a game. I'm not gonna hold back." Then he appeared behind the mechanic's back and knocked him out. A familiar woman's voice boomed in the intercom. **"Pi, pu, pi! Talbot is out of the game."**

"Phew! Glad that's taken care of. Oi, Dera! You done?"

"DON'T CALL ME DERA!" And that was the switch to Gokudera's famous temper as he unknowingly barraged Ricardo with all the bombs he can get his hands on (which was a lot). Ricardo, being the careless bastard he is, got hit once and he stumbled on the wall. Takeshi used that chance to knock him out as well. **"Pu, pi! Ricardo is out of the game!" **Screams of 'EXTREME!' were heard and looks like it was raining hedgehogs in their direction. **"Ryohei and Knuckles are out too! Piiiii!"**

"What was that noise? Was that a UMA?"

"What are you talking about? Good job anyways, Dera!" Yamamoto gave him a thumbs-up.

"Don't give me that crap! Come back here, Baseball-freak!" And they chased each other.

"Hahaha!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Belphegor and Fran vs. Xanxus and Squalo~<strong>_

They succeeded in taking care of Varia's 'virtual mother' and their resident 'creep-man'. Next target? Their fucked-up boss and his PMS-ing second-in-command.

Bel controlled his knives to strike down their targets. Fran decided to catch the two off-guard with an illusion… of talking sharks with scars all over them.

"The hell is this, scum?" He brought out his guns and shot several of them.

"VOOOIIII!" The long-haired swordsman lashed out on the illusions. Then the duo sensed an attack from the side.

"Ushishishi, be sliced all over by my Cutting Knife Waltz~." The knives around Bel started to float.

Squalo scowled. "That damn Bel! VOI! FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!"

Xanxus shot down the tree in which the other group was perched on. The two jumped down before the branch they were previously perching on fell. Fran looked at his teammate boredly. "They caught us, Bel-senpai."

"Shut up, un-cute kouhai. Open your box, quick!"

"Whatever." He brought out a ring with the number '666' on it (Hell ring), lit it up, and slammed it on a box with the logo of Varia on it. A mini-Bel shot out of his box. Xanxus had a 'WTF' face when he saw it. "What kind of box is that, trash?"

"AHAHAHA! PATHETIC, JUST LIKE YOU!" What they didn't notice is that the bangs of the Bel-in-a-box didn't cover its eyes anymore. The mini-Bel's eyes glowed red and the famous Varia duo was shrouded by black mist**(1)**.

Beyond the mist was a black wasteland with a red sky and everything was upside-down**(2)**.

"Where the hell is this?"

"How am I supposed to know, fucking boss?"

A montonous voice was heard from outside the mist. "Boss, Squalo-senpai, welcome to Maledetto Abisso della Nebbia (Cursed Abyss of the Mist). Enjoy your stay." All sorts of weapons appeared out of nowhere while the duo was suddenly bound by chains to a wall.

Inside the wasteland, many blood-curling screams were heard. When the mist faded, they found Squalo unconscious. Xanxus was missing.

"Scoppio d' Ira (Burst of Wrath)!" They were caught off-guard and blown away by Xanxus's Flames of Wrath. Unfortunately, he passed out as soon as he shot them.

"If I'm going down, I'm gonna take you trashes with me." He said as he closed his eyes.

They underestimated each other. In the end, no one won.

* * *

><p>"Whoa! I guess that's what they call 'Varia Quality', huh?" A man with sunglasses and fedora said.<p>

"I think they're just idiots. Making fun of the opponent's strength…" Another guy with sunglasses and was wearing a pair of boxing gloves remarked.

Adelheid crossed her arms and pursed her lips. "I just hope Cozart knows what he's doing. What do you think, Shittopi-chan?"

A bald girl with two big inflatables on her smiled. Presumably the so-called 'Shittopi-chan'. "Puu… I'm sure he does. But sometimes I can't help but think that Tsu-chan's rubbing off on him."

"If I said I didn't agree with you, that would be lying." A fat teenager said, eating chips.

A blond guy who had a regent hairstyle grumbled slightly with a bit of amusement in his eyes. "It's really disturbing, I must say. Though, it looks like fun." Everybody looked at him with bewildered eyes.

The guy wuth boxing gloves sweatdropped. "It looks like there's another influenced victim around here." He sighed. "Master Tsuna's sadism is too contagious."

"Wow, you actually know a word like that. Hooray for you." The fat guy said.

The fedora-wearing glasses man looked back at the screen. "Don't worry about it too much. Let's just kick back, relax, and enjoy the show."

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Daemon and Alaude vs. Mukuro and Hibari~<strong>_

The two Vongola guardians warily walked around. The electrocution feature of the wristwatch is still activated, so they can't be too far from each other.

A hedgehog came out of nowhere and went towards them. Then lotus flowers and vines covered their bodies. Their bodies faded in the mist.

"Oya, oya. I knew it wasn't going to be this easy." The real Daemon said. Alaude growled at him. "Just shut up and find the culprits."

"Kufufufu…"

Kyoya who looked irritated and Mukuro who looked impatient appeared. The prefect lunged at them and bound them by his tonfas' chains. The pineapple smirked and loomed over them.

"Nice job removing the illusionary doubles, melon herbivore." Alaude glared at his partner. Can you feel the sarcasm in his tone?

"At least I'm not the one who stood on the sidelines like a pole."

"Both of you shut up or I'll bite you to death."

Daemon smirked at them. "You two really are family. His cuffs are kinky—" A heated glare. "—and your catchphrase is, too. I'm not surprised about the name that the brunet gave you." (refer to Chapter 6)

"Says the guy who declared he's going to take the Vongola's body, pedophile." Mukuro commented.

"I don't want to be called a pedophile by someone who continuously gropes Tsunayoshi-kun, my dear perverted brother."

"Touché."

Alaude raised an eyebrow at the duo's bickering. The two fruit brothers were so caught in a staring contest that they didn't notice Hibari opening his box.

"Reverse Needle Sphere Form." Daemon and Alaude were trapped. The next thing they knew, they were stabbed by numerous spikes.

**"Puuu… Alaude and Daemon are out!"**

Mukuro sighed. "You really are impatient, Kyoya Hibari."

"Just shut up, pineapple."

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Gokudera and Yamamoto vs(?) Tsuna~<strong>_

"Oh boy, I'm lost."

Tsuna ditched Giotto to find some food. He's now scavenging when a sword came out of nowhere. He tilted his head to the side and perfectly dodged the attack without much effort.

He took out a rifle and aimed it at the trees.

"Come on out. I know you're there." And rustlings of branches and leaves could be seen. Out came Gokudera and Yamamoto.

"Haha, hi Tsuna! I didn't know it was you! Sorry about that." He gave a cheeky grin.

"Shut up baseball-freak! You could've killed Tenth with that!"

"It doesn't really matter, Dera. Look! Tsuna's all safe and sound."

…And they started to argue. Well, more of Gokudera shouting and Yamamoto laughing it off like nothing. The brunet facepalmed at the two's idiocy. They were competing, for pete's sake! _'Don't they have any awareness at all?'_ Now that he thinks about it, it's not his problem, so he shouldn't care much. _'Maybe they have snacks…'_

"You guys have any food on you? I'm really hungry." The inventor gave his puppy eyes look to make sure they can't refuse.

Immediately, they blushed. "S-Sorry, Tsuna. We don't have any."

"I-I-Idiot! It automatically means we should help Juudaime look for snacks! Now get up and go!" They scrambled away to the food stalls.

**-A few moments later-**

"That was delicious!" The brunet stretched out his limbs. Now, he's all charged up and ready to go. He turned to his two guardians who were eating beside him. He smiled at them.

"Thank you, Hayato, Takeshi!" His smile was full of kindness, content, cuteness, uke-ness, and moe-ness, don't forget moe-ness, and it was all directed to them. Here comes the nosebleed~…

Their faces were so red that a lot of blood came out on full force.

**Newsflash: Hayato Gokudera and Takeshi Yamamoto just died and went to heaven.**

When they passed out, they didn't see the dark, smug smirk on the brunet's innocent face.

_'Two down and a few people to go… now they're out of the game~!' _He did an evil laugh inwardly. Just a little bit more and he'll be together with his rare, delicious chocolates.

He then heard a 'WHOA!' not to far from his spot. He looked at his guardians and they were gone. The brunet shrugged, picked up his rifle, and ran towards the direction of the girly shriek.

"Looks like things are really starting to get fun." He smiled.

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Dino and Cozart vs. Reborn vs. Giotto and… Tsuna(?)~<strong>_

"WHOOAA!"

Giotto was now alone, after Tsuna ditched him, when he ran into Dino and Cozart. Cozart put on his gloves and opened many blackholes which made it harder for Giotto to prevail.

Dino tried to do a surprise attack, but alas, his men weren't around. You know what that means, right?

He tripped and accidentally hit his whip on both his, Cozart's and Giotto's faces. Talk about epic fail.

"Ack!" They all chorused.

Cozart blasted the whip away from him and also charred a nearby bush, revealing a certain hitman's hiding place.

"Where's Lampo, Reborn?" Giotto asked. Reborn smirked as he fired his gun at the two unfortunate victims (Dino and Cozart). Dino was sprawled on the floor and Cozart laid on his stomach.

"Does this answer your question?" He pointed to the two unmoving bodies. Giotto's eyes widened. He couldn't have killed him… could he?

**"Dino and Cozart are out, pu pi!"**

A figure in the shadows frowned. "That's it? It's just that easy? How boring. Come on, shake things up! Give the little blondie something to cry about."

"W-Who's t-there?"

Tsuna came out and revealed himself… eating a bag of popcorn.

"Want some?" Reborn approached him and did take a few. Giotto looked at him incredulously. "Where have you been? You left me alone and I ran into the others!" _'Besides, this isn't the time for you to be eating snacks!'_

"I was hungry and food is more important." The young boss fell anime-style. So he ditched him to fend off for himself just for some snack?

The hitman's smirked widened. "Don't worry too much about the boring stuff, Dame-Tsuna." He slammed his ring on a yellow box. A certain green chameleon came out.

The young boss looked baffled. "Leon is a box weapon?!" Leon perched on the hitman's hand and licked some of the flames on Reborn's ring. It jumped off and landed on the ground with a soft thud. Then it glowed brightly and when the light died down, a komodo dragon was on its place.

"Camaleonte di Sereno, Secondo Forma: Grande Rettile (Chameleon of the Sun, Second form: Grand Reptile)."

Tsuna grinned. "Now we're talking! Well, good luck, Giotto~!" He waved at the blonde. Not the 'I'm-counting-on-you' kind of wave. It was the 'goodbye-forever-I'll-never-forget-you' wave. Giotto was now panicking. Meanwhile, Tsuna brought out a foldable chair and sat down. He also brought out a can of cola.

"You came here just to watch me fight? You're not gonna help me?"

"Since when did I ever help? Besides, I enjoy watching your misery." Giotto sweatdropped. "Is that what this is all about?! I can't beat him! This is _Reborn_ we're talking about!"

"Blah, blah, blah… your needs." Tsuna had a bored look on his face.

The blond-haired teen paled. _'I guess my last option is to run away.'_

Reborn looked smug. "Running away isn't an option, Dame-Gio. I'll be on you like candy stuck on the stupid cow's hair."

"I give up." He whined.

"I'm sure you've realized this but…" Reborn paused. "…even if it costs your pathetic little life, I'll still force you to participate in this game. Now, be a man and face me."

_'I knew it. They're total monsters. I hope it's just a joke…'_

"Too bad, it's not." Tsuna deadpanned at him. Giotto now has a huge sweatdrop on his head.

Leon lunged at Giotto as Reborn brought out a different gun and exclaimed. "Chaos shot!"

He gulped down a pill. He went into his HDWM (hyper dying will mode) and dodged Reborn's assault. His gloves glowed as he took hold of Leon. "Zero Point Breakthrough: First edition."

Leon who was now covered in ice, reverted back into a chameleon and turned into a pistol. Now, the hitman has two guns and fired, "Chaos shot: Burning Magnum!" The shots from the two guns merged together and formed several gigantic Sun-flame blasts.

They continued to exchange blows as they dodged each other's attacks. Tsuna was bored enough so he decided to interfere.

He whispered as he slowly lifted his finger and pointed it at the hitman. "Luce di Cielo (Light of the Sky)." The hitman's spot was engulfed by Sky flames. When the flames dissipated, Reborn was nowhere to be found. Giotto looked confused. Reborn freakingly disappeared in front of him (he didn't notice what Tsuna did).

Tsuna mused to himself. When he looked at the spot where Dino and Cozart laid down, they were gone. Giotto grinned at his _very helpful _partner. "Look! I think I just won against Reborn." The young boss really thought he defeated the hitman.

The brunet didn't mind him. After all, he did do the dirty work. "Wow. Hey. Great. Go Giotto. Woo."

"That's harsh."

"You kidding me? I'm not here to spoil you. Now come on and let's go." Tsuna grabbed Giotto on his collar.

* * *

><p><strong>"Reborn, along with 4 others are out of the game!" <strong>Everyone stared at the TV screen intensely. Gasps could be heard.

**"The only ones left are Tsu-chan, Giotto, Mukuro and Kyoya!"**

"I can't believe Reborn lost to Giotto of all people. Just… wow!" Dino, who was bandaged, yelled frantically. It must be the end of the world for the number 1 hitman to lose.

Gokudera scowled at him. "There's no way that wimp can beat Reborn-san! I bet Tenth did something to help him."

Fran put on his frog hat. "I doubt it. Hime-sama isn't the type to get in-between someone else's battle."

Cozart, who just woke up, tapped his chin lightly. "Maybe he got bored and decided to end their fight?"

"I agree. Mama can be so unreasonable sometimes." Lambo added. He was now enjoying a sweet, delicious triple banana split and two slices of tiramisu. Talbot stared at the cow-kid. He and Tsuna are definitely related. You can practically see it on their appetite.

G shushed them. "Look, it's starting. The final four…" The rest clamped their mouths shut and watched the battle from the flat-screen TV. By the rest, I meant the losers.

Reborn? Tsuna sent him out of the amusement park so he's officially out of the game itself, but he's not injured. He gave a 'tch' and walked towards the control room where the others were.

_'That stupid Dame-Tsuna, he's gonna get it from me once this is all over.'_

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Giotto vs. Mukuro and Hibari~<strong>_

"Ooh, the demons are here." Tsuna commented as he ate more popcorn. Giotto was hyperventilating and pulling his hair non-stop. The brunet looked at him sternly. "Will you calm down and stay still?"

"Calm down? Calm down? How can I calm down, Tsunayoshi?! I'm doomed!"

"Quit your yapping! I'm sure you won't die," And added an afterthought. "probably." The last part was barely inaudible but Giotto managed to hear it.

"P-Probably?! I just can't do this!"

"I see your mouth moving but all I hear is 'blah, blah, blah'." Tsuna said as he set up his PS3 and played 'Resident Evil 5'. _'Okay, where'd that come from?'_ The blond teen pondered.

"But this is Hibari-san and Mukuro! They won't think twice to kill me!" Giotto sent him a pleading look that resembles a kicked puppy. The brunet inventor sighed and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I guess I can turn you into a cyborg if you want. Then you'll never die and you can be my slave forever~, sound good?" He gave a sly grin.

"Nevermind what I said. I'll pass." _'This is hopeless.'_

"Will you stop ignoring us, Vongola?" The young boss turned around to face his two nightmares, Hibari and Mukuro.

"S-S-Sorry." Tsuna sighed. When will his charge man up? Mukuro suddenly attacked the young boss with a thrust from his trident. Giotto immediately gulped down a pill and entered HDWM, so he dodged while he flew up in the air.

The brunet Arcobaleno let out a little giggle. He muttered, "And so the great over-sized fork appears." His partner yelled. "Is food the only thing you can think of?"

The young boss was about to land when Hibari attempted to hit him with a tonfa. He barely evaded as he flipped backwards.

"For crowding, I'll bite you to death." He covered his tonfas with pure Cloud flames (Just imagine Tsuna's flame as violet/purple in the Future Arc). He went to strike again but Giotto decided to go on defense and blocked it all with his gloved hands. He was proud of himself that he managed to block the prefect's assaults but figured that he was holding back a lot of his power.

The pineapple interfered by tapping the ground with his trident and out came many flame pillars.

"Kufufufu." The kanji on Mukuro's right eye changed into the number 'one'.

From the sidelines, the inventor merely looked unamused. "First Path: The Realm of Hell. Boring. Which reminds me, how come he can't use the Seventh Path**(3)**?"

They exchanged punches, kicks, thrusts, stabs, and strikes as they dodged each sides' attacks.

Giotto looked exhausted. _'I don't think I can make it.' _He panted. Before he could catch his breath, Hibari sent him flying to a wall and Mukuro stabbed him in the chest.

_'This is bad!'_ He thought as he lay on the ground (he's not out yet).

"What a weak herbivore."

"Waste of time. Now, for Tsu-chan…" When they settled their gaze to the brunet, his eyes were already orange (he is not in HDWM).

Tsuna cracked his knuckles. "I know it's an illusion but that's taking it too far, Mukuro. You too, Kyoya."

He jabbed a thumb to himself. "I'm the only one who can beat him down like that." Before they could react, he appeared behind the two and chopped/jabbed their vital points, knocking them out without much effort.

_'And this is the proof why you were chosen as an Arcobaleno. Tsu-chan, you always surprise me.' _The pineapple thought before he landed on the ground.

"You okay, Giotto-san? That was an illusion. You shouldn't fall for those. Then again, this is Mukuro were talking about." Tsuna said in a lower pitch of voice.

The young boss blinked stupidly. What just happened? Tsuna fought the urge to facepalm. _'How stupid can he get?'_

"A-Ah. Yeah, I think I'm okay." The brunet's eyes turned brown once more as he lent a hand to the blonde.

**"YES! TSU-CHAN AND GIOTTO WON!" **The announcer on the intercom shouted.

"So you actually managed to survive, huh? Who knew you could actually be useful?" Tsuna said as he crossed his arms. Giotto shook his head. He swore Tsuna's voice became low. Maybe he's just imagining things.

"Maybe I'm just dumb—" _'Yes, you are.'_ Tsuna thought. "—but what happens now?"

"Hm? How am I supposed to know? Do I look like the one who set all this up?" The brunet inventor crossed his arms and gave him a blank stare.

Then a portion of the floor opened and revealed the six Shimon Guardians and the losers.

"Congratulations, Tsu-chan!" The girl with inflatables said while she held a microphone.

"Shitt P! You're the announcer?" Giotto looked at her.

Tsuna rolled his eyes. "You think? She's the only one who's holding a microphone, you know." His partner sent him a glare.

"Anyways, even though I hate to say this but you two are stuck in a date tomorrow." Reborn grumbled. Knuckles, Ryohei, and Lussuria approached Mukuro and Hibari. They were still out.

"How about my chocolates, Reborn?" The hitman sighed. _'Some things never change.'_ "They're in your room."

His eyes sparkled. "Yes! Don't worry little chocolates, mama's coming!" Tsuna disappeared with a flash.

Giotto and a few others jaw-dropped at the brunet's speed. _'Who knew he was that fast?'_

"I did." Reborn replied.

"Stop reading my mind!"

The hitman shook his head in amusement and left as well.

* * *

><p>After a few hectic events and paying the damages (damn Reborn for the game) they finally got to rest in the lobby. Speaking of which, why didn't Cozart-kun let them in their rooms yet?<p>

His answer: It's a surprise.

So Giotto decided to go on a little walk on the beach (the hotel is just near the shore) when he spotted Tsuna running after him.

"Hey!" He turned around to face the brunet.

"You know, even if you were pathetic back there, thanks to you I got my hands on rare chocolate!" He exclaimed happily.

"Oh." _'I'll ignore the pathetic comment for now.'_ He seemed disappointed that the brunet wasn't planning on spending time… with… him. He shook his head to remove the thought. _'Of course he wouldn't spend time with me! I'm sure he's got better things to do.'_

"Um, what did you need?"

He started to fidget with the hem of his shirt. _'How cute.'_ Giotto mentally slapped himself.

"I had a lot of fun today. So as a 'thank you' gift for making my day, I'll give you this." Tsuna stood on the tip of his toes so he can reach him (he's even shorter than Giotto), and pecked him on the cheek. Giotto looked shocked.

"W-W-W-What w-was t-t-that f-for…?"

He smiled obliviously. "Hm? That was my 'thank you' gift. Well, see you later Giotto-san!" He waved goodbye as he ran in the opposite direction. Giotto touched the cheek where he was kissed, blushed a bright red, and passed out.

_'He k-kissed me…' _He thought happily as he drifted away into unconsciousness. But was still really, really shocked.

From the sidelines, a certain cow-brat was snickering to himself. _'I can't believe that Mama's harem just got bigger.'_

* * *

><p>A cloaked figure wearing a clear pacifier stood atop the hill. His hands were bound by chains and his arms were bandaged. He closed his eyes and tried to sense something.<p>

"My other half." An image of a certain brown-haired brunet flashed in his mind. His pacifier glowed brightly as his gaze landed into the horizon.

"…" He said as he was covered with Forest flames and disappeared with the wind.

* * *

><p>Tsuna's eyes widened. He felt a strange but familiar feeling in his chest. His pacifier was glowing very bright.<p>

_'What… was that?'_ He said. Then he saw a flame flicker in the back of his mind.

He tried to set up a telepathic connection. _"Is that you, Mirai?" _

An eerie voice resounded in his ears. Brown eyes widened as a silhouette almost materialized right before his eyes. _"What are you planning to do now?"_

He swore he saw the guy smirked. _"Only time can tell what I have in store for everyone."_

_"Better not get too full of yourself. Your hidden aims can backfire. Where are you anyway?" _The brunet looked around frantically.

_"That doesn't matter now because we will meet again soon, my friend Unmei; or should I call you by your name, Tsuna-kun?"_

* * *

><p>"My, my. It seems that Destiny and Future are already intertwined in this reality," Checkerface murmured to himself. "I wonder how things will go this time." He removed his iron hat and mask. Cold, silver-gray eyes were revealed, once again concealed beneath a pair of glasses. He removed his long black coat and Japanese garbs were underneath. He wore a red and black-checkered yukata and a thin, brown obi held his clothes in place.<p>

He ran a hand along his wavy yet sleek snow white hair. "It's about time I get back to my cover." He brought out a cellphone. Searching his list of contacts, there was one name that stood out among the rest. It was written in Chinese characters. He chose the name and called them.

_"Hello?"_ The voice on the other line was of a young girl.

"I-pin, did you ask Fon to open the restaurant?"

_"Ah, Kawahira-san! Hai, Master was already informed." _

He smiled. Things were according to plan. He needs to keep the Storm guardian busy. "Good. Tell him that I'm coming now."

_"Okay. I guess we'll see you later!"_ I-pin ended the call.

Kawahira, or Checkerface, was chuckling amusedly to himself. Manipulating Tsunayoshi Sawada to recreate the destroyed fragments of Trinisette was the best plan he ever made. He knew that the brunet's plan for Bermuda and the Vindice to take ahold of the Arcobaleno pacifiers was not going to last long, all those years ago. As expected, the power of the greatest fragments of Trinisette was too much for humans to handle; no matter how powerful or special they were.

The brunet's actions are going to end in vain, and he no longer had much Life flames left in him. He would become useless eventually. However, he and that Mare boy gave him a good show until the end… even dragging the Shimon boy and the first true holders of the Vongola ring, the Primo generation, into their tale!

_'Sawada's life is almost forfeit.'_

Looks like he'll have to search for the next Sky Arcobaleno. Until then…

"Let us see how your story ends, Tsunayoshi Sawada."

* * *

><p><strong>(1) <strong>I decided to make Fran's box weapon cool. Its powers and features weren't really revealed in the anime/manga.

**(2)** Combination of Itachi's Tsukuyomi (from Naruto) and Shinji's Reverse world (from Bleach).

**(3)** I made this up. This is Tsuna's only path of Reincarnation which won't be revealed until the box weapon chappie.

* * *

><p><strong>Only a few changes here, people. <strong>

**Anyways, Checkerface's thoughts in the end is connected to the canon ending of the Curse of the Rainbow arc.**

**Flonne:** Wow, Giotto actually won.

**Reborn:** He didn't do it on his own. He still needed help from Dame-Tsuna, so I say double his training.

**Tsuna: ***sweatdrops* He's gone already.

**Flonne: **Yeah, maybe we should wait until the date chapter is posted?

**Tsuna:** *nods*

**Reborn: **Fine. *grumbles* But better make sure he suffers, okay?

**Flonne: **Right. *shakes head* Well, ja ne~! Till next time, everyone.

**Reborn: **Ciao ciao~!

**Tsuna:** (I just hope Reborn doesn't kill him too much.)

**SORRY FOR THE CRAPPY FIGHT SCENES AND HOPE YOU LIKE IT! *bows***


	10. Ch 9: The Date

**Replies:**

**Tnah:** It's not him, sorry… not gonna spoil who it is~ :3

**FaerieDemon:** If I didn't know any better I would say he's a food addict. And you guessed right again! How do you do it? Yep, they're gonna spy… and the kitty? I'll take it, but give it to someone else. Is that okay with you?

**Neko-Chan1827:** Well, Tsuna's an Arcobaleno so it's pretty understandable. But he didn't actually get defeated, he was just transported somewhere else. And being out of the event area (amusement park) means you don't wanna play anymore. Hope this clears it up!

**Princess Arcs di Cielo:** Thanks for the date idea! Yay for G27 fluff~!

**TakeshiYamamoto2980: **I wish someone in KHR would use a weapon that looks like an oversized spoon; then that person and Mukuro would match, haha! Though, Daemon's scythe could be considered as an oversized knife. For box weapons, your ideas are brilliant! Nightingale and butterflies? Hmm, not bad. Sabotage, bwahahaha. Sadly, Tsu-chan & Gio-kun's happiness won't last forever because many bad things will happen in the more serious chapters... :(

**Vongola-Nicole:** I'm glad you don't think it's crappy. I put that in because I rushed writing those parts, haha. Anyways, would you mind if I gave the wolf to someone else? About the date, I couldn't put in the Giotto realizing stuff about Tsuna. Though, I did come up with something where I can apply that. Haha, at least you gave me an idea for the future chappie! I think I'm gonna put that scenario in one of the chapters after the box weapon thingy.

Thanks to YuujouKami, 13animenurd13, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, Kichou, TotalAmuto, and Usagi-Tama.

**It's been a while since I last updated, ne? I've been procrastinating lately and haven't had a spark of inspiration in months. I've decided to post a lot of chapters at once to make up for it. This is the most modified chappie of all.**

**Hope you enjoy and have bouts of laughter.**

* * *

><p>While they were sightseeing around town, Tsuna kept sneaking glances at Giotto. No matter how 'no-good' the young boss is, the brunet has to admit he looks pretty cool in casual clothes. Curse his girly looks. Sure it's convenient for some things (*cough*seduction*cough*) but sometimes, he wished he could be as good-looking as him and the others. He sighed.<p>

They both decided to break the uncomfortable silence. "Uh…" They both said.

"You first." Giotto said.

"Nu-uh. You first. You're the boss, remember?"

"But you're the guy who came up with the Trinisette, so you're first."

"Bah, let's see… not it!"

"Not it!" He grumbled. "No fair, I wasn't even ready!" Giotto whined.

"Fine then. Not it!" Tsuna grinned.

"Not it!" He frowned. "Darn, I lost. Do it again, do it again!"

Then Tsuna ran away. He stuck his tongue out. "Sorry, no takebacks. Last one in the café's gonna pay for the food~, ahahaha!" Tsuna gave a small evil laugh.

"You got a head start, cheater!"

"Beggars can't be choosers. Besides, you're gonna have an empty wallet if you don't start running!" Tsuna yelled. Giotto huffed.

"Come back here!" They laughed as they raced through the streets. The lovey-dovey couple enjoyed the peace, and the pair could only hope that their love would last through the ages; introducing a beacon of light in the darkness of the underground world.

* * *

><p><em>Sharing both joy and sadness, <em>

_Our feelings grow stronger._

_If my voice can reach you,_

_Then I can certainly create a miracle, right?_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: The Date<strong>

* * *

><p>There were many things that Giotto learned about the others today.<p>

First, G is horrible at giving love advice. The trashy, cheesy romance novels he reads everyday were proof enough.

So why did he ask for his right-hand man's help, despite knowing that?

He didn't know himself, honestly.

"That's because you're just a hopeless case, Dame-Gio." Since when did furniture talk? Did he actually say that out loud? He was thinking here, dammit!

"You're not thinking, dumbass. You're ranting." A certain brunet remarked.

"I am?" He turned around and was greeted by the sight of his tutor and his date earlier today, staring at him. What? Why were they looking at him like creepy old men?

"That's the worst insult you can think of? Reborn, did you teach him how to backsass properly?"

"I did. It just means he needs more training."

Ignoring the talking pair, Giotto's thoughts drifted back to G. Where was he…? Oh yeah.

As he thought before, G being a horrible love counselor was the understatement of the year.

It all started when he approached G for help.

"G, I have no idea on what to do on my date with Tsunayoshi!"

Okay, maybe he was exaggerating a bit. It's not that he didn't have any ideas, it was just that he has no experience about this whatsoever and the fact that his date is a sadistic mafioso, who can also be dense, didn't help ease him.

"Maybe give him chocolates as a greeting before you head out?"

Now that he thought about it, Tsuna did love sweets.

* * *

><p>"Oh, Giotto. Are you ready?" Giotto turned around to see his brunet tutor in civilian clothes.<p>

Tsuna wore a plain orange hoody jacket, white t-shirt and his orange pacifier underneath and a pair of black trousers. He also wore white flip-flops. He looked… normal and boring. But if he wore the hoody, he would look adorable because the hood frames his face perfectly.

He himself, wore an open white and orange jacket with a black t-shirt that clung to him like a second skin underneath and it showed his toned body. He also wore a pair of tight-fit jeans and black sneakers (that actually made the brunet drool slightly). Anyone else would look plain with those kind of clothes, but with him, it just fits. Tsuna blushed at the thought. Then they unintentionally brushed against each other. Both of them looked the other way awkwardly.

It was then that Tsuna took notice of the box that Giotto was carrying. "Hm, what's that?"

"Oh… uh… chocolates. For you."

"How sweet," The brunet smiled. _'Yeah, like you.'_ His mind happily supplied, sounding like one of the aforementioned trashy novels that G daily read. He almost smacked himself in the face because of it.

Giotto handed the box. When Tsuna opened it, he frowned. "I'm sorry, I can't take these."

"Why?"

"I'm not allowed to eat white chocolates because they're too sweet and bad for my health."

"Uhh… I'll be back right away!"

* * *

><p>Giotto dialed G's number. "The chocolates didn't work!"<p>

The redhead on the other side of the line sighed. _"I expected as much."_

"Then why did you even suggest that in the first place?!"

_"Fine. Try giving him flowers."_

"Got it." And he hung up.

"Giotto-san, who did you call?" Ah, he better get back to his companion and make up some excuse as to remove the brunet's suspicion that he was not prepared for their date. Neither he nor Reborn would never let him live it down, causing more damage to his non-existent dignity. Not to mention that they'll use it as an excuse for further torture they called 'training'.

"It's nothing, Tsunayoshi. I uhh… just reminded G to help Daemon reshape his hair!"

Silence.

"Let me get this straight. You made a call out the blue just to tell that G, who is allergic to melons and absolutely abhors Daemon-san's hairstyle, to help him reshape his hair into the aforementioned fruit?"

"That didn't come out right."

"I know."

More silence.

"Let's just not talk about it."

"If you say so."

* * *

><p>"Who are the flowers for, sonny?" The nice old lady florist said.<p>

After her assistant fetched what the young man ordered, she was really curious as to whom the nice-looking youth would give those kind of flowers to. She felt bad for the unfortunate soul who has received the harmless-appearing young man's anger. He seemed to be the type to be very patient and who smiles a lot, too.

"They're for my date over there," He jabbed a finger towards Tsunayoshi, who was admiring the moonflower by the counter. The old lady furrowed her eyebrows and had a confused expression on her face when he said that; not that he noticed.

What were they doing?

Well, the couple passed a flower shop. G's advice ringing in his head, Giotto heads toward the establishment with renewed vigor. He chose yellow carnations and orange lilies because they complimented Tsuna's amber-brown eyes.

He approached his companion and handed him the bouquet.

"T-These are for you."

Tsuna deadpanned.

"Though I do commend you for choosing the colors… you do know that yellow carnations mean 'rejection' or 'disdain', right?" The Arcobaleno commented. "That's like saying 'You disappoint me' and smacking it to my face."

Giotto panicked. "I… didn't know that, honest! Did you like the lilies, at least?"

"Orange lilies connote a strong hatred or suggest that you want to get revenge."

"Is that a yes or a no?" He stupidly inquired. The blond regretted ever asking after seeing Tsuna giving him an emotionless stare.

That was a no.

* * *

><p>"G, flowers failed!"<p>

_"Calm down, geez. To think you're a mafia boss, that's some attitude befitting one."_ The maroon-haired male felt Giotto glaring daggers at him through the phone.

"Isn't there anything else you can think of?"

_"How about singing a song or writing a poem for him? Sing praises about his looks or write a poem like he's as cute as a grizzly bear or something."_

Giotto ended the call. Since when were huge, terrifying bears cute? He shook his head, leaving it all to his friend's advice. G _was_ the experienced one between the two of them.

* * *

><p>He tried the song first.<p>

"You don't kno-o-ow~, and that's what makes you beautiful!"

"I appreciate the song and all, but really Giotto-san," Tsuna gave him an incredulous glance. "No offense or anything, but you're a terrible singer."

That was the end of his singing career (not that he planned to be a singer or anything).

* * *

><p>"Giotto, what are you writing?"<p>

The two settled down on a nearby bench. They hadn't done anything fun today, besides walking. Tsuna was just waiting for the other to pick a place. Giotto didn't get the hint.

Instead, the blond was scribbling on some tissue paper he got from his pocket. The brunet looked over his shoulder, furrowed his eyebrows, and sighed. He rolled his eyes at whatever the other was doing.

"Giotto-san, are you really complimenting me when you wrote that my eyes are 'as brown as the cruddy earth I step on'?" He asked nonchalantly. "Or when you wrote that I'm 'as cute as a grizzly bear'? Honestly, I'm not sure if you're mocking me or you're just a bad poet as you are a singer."

When G said 'as cute as a grizzly bear', he didn't mean that literally. It was just an example. The blond was merely a hopeless writer and Tsuna knew that himself; he simply liked to tease the other about it.

That ceased Giotto's future plans of going to his right-hand man for romance advice.

* * *

><p>Second thing he learned today was that Tsuna was a jealous monster, possessive of anyone and anything that he deems he owns.<p>

Tsuna frowned as he thought of something. _'I wonder what I should get…_ _chocolate cake? Too sweet. Black Forest? Nah, got that last time. Hmm…' _Yep. He's deciding on what cake to get.

Giotto noticed the brunet's frown. _'Is he bothered that he's going on a date with me?'_ He put his hand on his chin. _'Well, he isn't gay…_ _not that I'm saying I am one!'_ The blond sighed. Even in his own little thoughts, he can't outwit his no-goodness. His way of thinking is too complicated.

Meanwhile…

"Did you see that? The blond guy is sooo hot!" One of them chirped. This statement made Tsuna a bit irritated. Giotto was his date, dammit. They should get their own. Wait… _his _date?! He must be hungry.… that's it! He must be so hungry that he's being delusional (in denial~).

"Yeah, and the brown-haired one is very cute! I wonder how his hair feels like when you touch it." Another said. The blond young boss frowned inwardly. Those girls should back off from his cute companion. He also noticed some guys staring at his date, like the raven-haired cashier at the back.

Tsuna is his, and his alone!

_'Er_…_ that was a strange thought.' _For some reason, Giotto didn't want to take back that statement.

"Uhuh, they look so cute together! Do you think they're a couple?" The last of them said.

"Nah, they look alike. There's a chance they're just siblings."

A waitress came up to them, her collar wide open and a bit of her cleavage showing. She was leaning down with her chest visible in Giotto's direction. This made the brunet silently growl. He glared at the black-haired female, and for once, Giotto actually saw it! (Hooray.)

Tsuna and the waitress had a glaring contest before the brunet reached into his hoodie and pulled out something silver— wait… _'Is that a gun?!' _The blond frantically thought as he sweatdropped.

It seems that the waitress realized what it was, too, and backed off without one word of protest. The brunet Arcobaleno had a smug smirk on his face afterwards. When the female looked back at the pair, she saw Tsuna mouthing something to her; out of Giotto's vision.

'Back off bitch, he's mine.'

And so, a nicer (and more reserved) waitress took their orders—Tsuna made sure that she wouldn't flirt with what was his (the earlier warning to the other lady was enough to intimidate them)—and the brown-haired teen was content. However, he didn't hide the gun, just in case.

* * *

><p>Another thing he learned about Tsuna was that he takes advantage of whatever he has, even if he hates it as itself.<p>

The pair went to a cinema, in hopes of watching a movie to make up for whatever that ruined their date earlier on.

The duo followed the line for the ticket booth. There was a pole at the side and Giotto noticed when Tsuna stood beside it…

"You know, you're pretty short." He blabbed out absent-mindedly. Tsuna had a vein pop on his forehead. If there was another thing that pisses the brunet off besides stealing his food, it would commenting about his height. _'Who does blondie think he's talking to?'_

He hissed. "Let me get this straight to your thick skull. I'm. Not. Short. Just… vertically challenged." The young boss felt the urge to tease the Arcobaleno further. "Oh, really now~?" What he did not expect was—

**SMACK!**

Tsuna gave him a karate chop… on the head. Giotto cried anime tears. _'It friggin' hurts!' _He sniffled and rubbed his newly-formed bruise gently.

"…"

"…"

"Say, Giotto." Said person let out quiet whimper. "W-What is it?" The brunet inventor sighed. _'Wimp.' _"Pretend that I'm your little brother once it's our turn to buy tickets."

A question mark formed on top of the blond's head. "Huh? What for?" Tsuna gave a sly grin. "So I can get a child's discount." The boss sweatdropped and had a look of disbelief on his face. _'He hates being called short but he exploits his height whenever he can?!'_

The Arcobaleno took pride for being the reason of that expression and his smirk widened. _'It's great being evil.'_

Giotto never spoke of Tsuna's height ever again.

Of course, he also didn't want to mention anything about what happened inside.

Why?

They went to watch a horror massacre movie. The tickets for the other movies were all sold-out and both of them would rather drop dead than be caught watching that boyxboy R-18 lemon movie. That, and they were not of legal age yet. The first time Giotto saw the sign for that movie, he remembered the Varia's local gaylord/self-proclaimed mother Lussuria and shuddered.

They bought some popcorn and went inside. Tsuna noticed that they were the only ones inside. _'We're alone? That's weird…_ _I thought people like this sort of stuff.'_ He thought. The brunet shrugged and went to find a good spot. Giotto had a nagging feeling this would be bad.

For the first 30 minutes of the movie, the young boss managed to strangle Tsuna with his death grip hug and shatter his eardrums with his girly shrieks, especially the part where the man's guts spurted out of his chest and torso when his body was pulled in all directions. The brunet inventor merely smirked at the movie. He got new ideas on how to torture people and the masked man's sadism always amused him. Whoever came up with those killing methods and machines is a genius.

_'Think of a happy place, think of a happy place, THINK OF A HAPPY PLACE!' _The blond panicked. He was practically holding in his tears.

Then the protagonist's friend had his head chopped off in an instant.

"WAAH, GET ME OUT OF HERE!" And he bawled like a little girl.

Yep, definitely did not want to mention it.

However, judging by the large smirk on Tsuna's face, the brunet wasn't going to let this one pass.

* * *

><p>Fourth thing he learned today, was that Lussuria was a freaking ninja; especially when it comes to other people's lovelife.<p>

Really, as long as it's romance-related, his stealth skills are on par with Reborn (and usually, he's one of the more conspicuous ones because of his hair and his flamboyant nature).

Since G was a fail at advice, maybe the Varia's resident 'mother' could help him (he overheard once from Fran that the mohawk-haired man had love counseling as his part-time job). Not to mention, he was gay. And girly. And knew a lot of things when it comes to dates.

However, he did not know his number. He did plan to call Reborn and ask for it though. Before he could even call him, the Varia Sun guardian beat him to it.

His phone vibrated all of a sudden. Giotto looked at his brown-haired companion (who was staring intently at some dark corner for reasons unknown). He was quite surprised when he saw an anonymous number. He furrowed his eyebrows. Who would call him at a time like this? Was it a stalker? A fangirl? A murderer?

_"Hello, Vongola-chan~!"_

_'Oh, it's just Lussuria.' _The blond relaxed before he tensed again. How the hell did Varia's 'mother' get his number?

_"It seems that you have quite the problem with your date, ne~?"_ His face turned a light shade of green. He could already picture him wiggling his body, in a very, very _disturbing_ and _disgusting_ way. Anyways, that was the least of his problems. First he needed to find out how the other knew.

"How did you know about that?"

_"I have my ways, Von-go-la-chan~!"_ Ewww… the way he stressed the syllables was really unnerving.

"Anyways, what do you think should I do about the date?" There was silence on the other line. After a few minutes, Lussuria piped up again. _"All you have to do is act like your usual self and make him happy."_ Giotto slightly furrowed his eyebrows. Of course! It was obvious. But would that really be okay?

_"I'm sure it is! As long as it's you, he wouldn't mind."_ The Sun guardian exclaimed. The blond didn't realize he said that last one out loud.

"Thanks, Lussuria. That really helped me," He murmured. _'And it boosted my confidence, too.'_

_"You're welcome!"_

"…"

_"…"_

"Say, Lussuria…"

_"Hm?"_

"How did you get my number?"

The line went dead.

* * *

><p>The Vongola do not know the word 'discreet'.<p>

Following them hiding beneath a bush two-thirds of their size wasn't contributing any to their camouflage.

The others followed them and watched their date like a hawk; except Talbot, all of the Sun guardians, Lambo, Levi, Asari and G. Chrome seemed disappointed they didn't bring her along. She wanted to take pictures of Tsuna and Giotto's date. Giotto wasn't so sure of Lussuria though. Lampo was around because Reborn needed a lackey to spy on his students.

"I can't believe that guy won! He doesn't deserve to be with Tenth." Gokudera grumbled. He was very much worried about _his_ Tenth's virginity. And that a loser's dating him (though many of Giotto's fangirls would disagree, even if the silver-haired mafioso is hot).

The others nodded.

Yamamoto laughed. It sounded strained, though. "Haha, why would you think that? He won fair-and-square and Tsuna didn't seem to mind."

"VOOOOIIII! ONLY THE KID (Tsuna) WOULD WIN AGAINST ALL OF US!" Squalo yelled as he swung his sword arm at the four idiots.

"Squalo-senpai, don't shout again. We're attracting unnecessary attention because of it." Fran said monotonously. It's true, people were looking at them. Why was the illusionist with them again? _'It's all for the entertainment,'_ He reminded himself.

"The long-haired commander's just going through a PMS, leave him alone." Bel commented.

"I DO NOT PMS!" Squalo shouted at Bel to intimidate him. But Bel's not the type of person who gets scared by something like a PMS-ing rabid shark. "There you go again with the PMS. The Prince says you need to buy pain-relievers."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

"Is your hearing bad or is it because you're old, peasant?"

"WHO YOU CALLING OLD?!"

"You."

"WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU THINK THAT!"

"Your hair is white."

"I AIN'T OLD AND I DON'T PMS, VOI!" His mouth was open very wide and his wrinkles were showing. His current image wasn't helping his case. Fran pointed nonchalantly at Squalo's forehead. "Ah, the long-haired commander's squiggly lines are showing. Can you see them, fake prince-sempai?"

"See? You _do_ PMS and you're old with your hair and those peasantly wrinkles. The prince thinks the shark must be going through menopause."

"FUCK YOU!"

Gokudera grumbled. "Remind me why did we bring the idiots and the loud ones with us?" Nobody answered him.

Lampo looked unamused. "Yare, yare. If you guys keep on fighting, they'll notice us." How smart of him to think that; it was so obvious that the couple could hear them. He grumbled some more. It was Reborn's fault why he was here in the first place. He didn't even want to come. However, the hitman blackmailed him—and damn, was he scary—so he couldn't refuse the request—no… order, to tag along.

Really, it was so obvious to the brunet and blond-haired mafia boss that they were lurking in the shadows.

First, back when they watched a movie, the film looked too real and gory to be fictional. There were also a few hints of Mist flames around, too. The fact that it smelled like tropical fruits in the cinema further proved it.

Second, they were too loud and caught too much attention from bystanders. Seriously, the pair swore they could hear them from miles away.

Last, they were eye-catching. And not the good kind. Their outfits, personalities, and presences stood out a lot even if they blended in a crowd; which wouldn't happen because two unhappy skylarks would unleash Hell upon everyone.

Besides that…

Dino and Cozart are the nosiest friends he has.

They tagged along because they found his date interesting. Add the factor that they'll probabbly tease him sometime afterwards… that makes one cranky Giotto.

It's probably because they used to hang around Reborn and Tsuna a lot. He had no idea that sadism was contagious. But of course, his fellow mafia bosses remained clumsy and pathetic.

And good thing, too, or else there would be two people added to his list of tormentors.

* * *

><p>The biggest lesson Giotto learned was to never, I mean NEVER, get on Tsuna's bad side.<p>

Well, it wasn't as if he didn't know that already; but today's events just traumatized him. He didn't want to be reminded of what he heard beyond the door where his family (sans Reborn) and Tsuna were.

Once the group of stalkers returned to the hotel, they were greeted by a pissed off Tsuna with a creepy smile on his face.

"Why hello there. Did you have fun stalking us?" Tsuna said as his eyes gave a sadistic glint. They all gulped.

"U-Uhh…" The others didn't know what to say. Some seemed impassive about it but if you look closely, there's a lot of sweat trickling down their faces.

"I'm pretty sure you did. Though, I'm not angry that you guys spied or tried to ruin our fun. No, it was because of that transformation illusion you did on me (refer to the café scene)." He growled and brought out a whip: a chain whip (IDK how it came to be but let's go with that). He slung the whip on his shoulder, cracked his knuckles and brought out a bundle of rope.

"Now, it's my turn to show you my kind of fun." He pounced on them and tied them all up. Xanxus, Fran, and the Cloud guardians were the only ones safe (and had a hard time escaping).

"You know what, I'm glad that I watched that movie. It just gave me new ideas, and you guys are my first victi— I mean, volunteers!" He smirked and laugh evilly.

Cozart's eyes were wide as saucers. He pointed a finger at the brunet. "Y-You just admitted that we're your victims!"

"Do tell when I said that." Tsuna had a sweet yet scary and creepy grin on his face. His eyes were also shadowed by his bangs. "I said victi— volunteers." _'He said it again! We're so dead!' _They pathetically thought.

"See, you did it again!" Dino just had to point that out. The brunet's expression darkened even more. While the Arcobaleno was distracted, he was doing the tiptoe-escape trick. All of a sudden, Tsuna was suddenly in front of him.

"Why hello Dino. We haven't even started the fun tor— training yet."

"NOOO!" The people left shouted.

From their room, Giotto swore he heard terrified screams. He shrugged his shoulders. _'I'll just pretend that it's my imagination…' _The blond went back to watching TV. Of course, he doesn't want to end up getting maimed (or possibly killed), so he'll leave them alone to their business.

* * *

><p><em><strong>New Omake:<strong>_**Stalker Hitman Reborn!**

Everyone's probably wondering where Reborn was.

Though Reborn was not with the group of stalkers, he was still following them. Truth be told, he was actually everywhere.

He was the vendor that sold the chocolates to Giotto.

_Giotto dropped by the Sweets store before he met up with the brunet Arcobaleno. The black-haired vendor smiled at him, with an unknown glint in his eyes. "Here's your order, sir."_

_"Thanks."_

He was also the old lady florist's assistant.

_"Boreen, can you please fetch these flowers at the back?" The old lady beckoned as she gave him a slip of paper. "Arrange them in a vague, disdainful way, as well. It seems that our customer has a big grudge."_

_The black-haired employee simply smirked, tipping his fedora in acknowledgement._

He was also the raven-haired cashier back in the café.

_"Here's our payment." The blond-haired mafia boss said as he warily observed the employee. He hid a smirk when he noticed how his student scrutinized him. His student still has ways to go before he can evaluate people discreetly._

_"Two slices of Tiramisu, a cup of Earl Grey tea, and Black coffee, yes?" Giotto nodded. The cashier just smiled, highly amused that he didn't recognize his voice for the third time that day. He had at least expected that the mafia boss would've caught on by now. Oh, well. More torture-training for him then. _

_His smirk widened at that idea, and his student felt a shiver down his spine._

Last, Reborn was also the guy at the ticket booth (Tsuna simply raised an eyebrow at his appearance and pointedly ignored him afterwards).

It was a good thing that at least _one_ of his students noticed him. It means that his charges weren't lost causes. _'Giotto needs to have his next lessons drilled into his head then,' _The hitman happily thought as he sipped his cup of espresso.

* * *

><p><strong>Ah, these are good (and very amusing) videos of the KHR cast.<strong>

www. youtube watch? v=F4en3Evtot0&feature=related **(remove the spaces)**

**and:**

www. youtube watch? v=sBBKpKhvGyQ&feature=related **(remove the spaces)**

**Watch the 2nd one, if you want to see all of them (even Varia & Hibari) ****in a skirt****, bwahahaha.**

**Both are KHR versions of Lucky Star opening :3 SO adorableeee~**

**Tsuna:** *watches 1st video and faints*

**Hibari:** *smirks* Nice choice herbivore. Maybe we should try it… *drags Tsuna away*

**Flonne:** Take good care of him, okay~? *waves*

**Hibari:** Hn. *closes the door*

**Others:** *glaring in jealousy*

**Giotto:** *fuming* I can't believe that he would do that. Tsunayoshi is my wife, Hibari will pay! *chases after them*

**Mukuro: ***brings out trident… or pitchfork* Tsu-chan's body will be mine and mine only, Hibari Kyoya. Kufufufu~.

**Reborn:** *changes Leon into a gun* Hibari's going down.

**Others:** Yeah! *brings out their weapons*

**Flonne:** **O/O** I can't believe Hibari really did that…*drools*. Oh well. Ja ne~!


End file.
